How would you describe the God you worship? Best friend? Frustrated and angry? Kind and loving? Gracious and merciful? Faithful? Strong? Capable? God is a mixture of all those words and many more we cannot begin to put into language. He is unexplainable and explainable. He causes each of us to struggle to understand his "philosophy" and "purpose". We see him raise a man from the dead through Jesus, but send lightning from the heavens to zap some priests who offer strange fire during sacrifice.
Where do you find the definitions? Bible? Oprah? Dr. Phil? Your favorite preacher? Philosopher? Writer? Comedian? SNL? Music? Movies? Our viewpoint of God will depend on the sources of our information. Some songs will communicate a God of love while others will tell of us glory and might. Some well respected philosophers will tell us God is dead and others that he is alive but unfair. The Bible will communicatethat God is larger than we can understand and that our finiteness cannot grasp his in-finiteness.
Does it make any difference how you define Him? Yes. How you define him defines you! If you see a God who mainly is angry and frustrated, you maylive feeling criticized and be critical. If you see God as mainly gracious and merciful, you may live an unchallenged life and accept mediocrity. If you picture God as "the great-grandfather" in the sky, you may tend to struggle to understand the tough moments of life...seeing them as a punishment.
I do not think I completely understand God nor have a firm grasp on why he does what he does. I do make room for him to be larger than my mind can comprehend. I do allow him to be unexplainable. I do realize he has a purpose I do not have to understand, but still follow.
Wrestle with God, but understand he will beat you every time. Ask him questions...he can handle them all! Don't try to confine him to a single verse of scripture or event where he acted a particular way. But in the end realize...no one can fathom or understand the God of the universe. Let God be God and allow him to challenge your life and thoughts. Let him become larger than he is as it will increase your trust.
How do you describe God?
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