We all have the tendency to create our own God. It's as if we flip through the sacred texts of Scripture and pull out various proof-texts that support our own preconceived notions of who God is. We like this aspect, but not this one. We enjoy God's love but shun his judgment; or we promote wrath and hell-fire and forget forgiveness. It's fabulous. We can build God exactly how we want Him.
We have made God in our image.
We ingest our theology at an eclectic buffet of divinity.
God. We've built Him from the ground up, meaning he's just like us. He's American, white, and middle-class. His will is always lined up with our will. He never asks us to do anything uncomfortable and would never give us times of suffering for any reason whatsoever.
If I was to "build-a-god," that's how I'd build him. Non-judgmental. Doesn't really care if I mess up and sin. Never requires me to care about anyone except me or do things that might be outside my bubble of comfort. I can even proof-text some of this from Scripture, probably. Behold our God...right?
False.
What's Jesus say about hanging out with those you are comfortable with? He says in Luke 14 that "The next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors-- the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks."
Well, that's uncomfortable.
Why can't I just have a God that's comfortable? Because Jesus commanded things such as "Pick up your cross and follow me." He requires us to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" in the Great Commission...and that commission hasn't expired yet, as far as I know.
But the god I've built would never want me to be in danger...right? Unfortunately, that's part of the deal. Crosses aren't known for being safe. Oh, and as we "go into all the world," Jesus makes sure to promise in John 16 that people will kill us, thinking they are doing a service for God.
Yay. That's comforting.
This doesn't sound like the god I've built. That's because He's not. He is Yahweh. He's not comfortable. He's not safe. CS Lewis put it this way: "Safe? Of course He isn't safe. But He's good."
Do I really want a comfortable God? Do I really want a God like myself?
Why can't I just have a God that's comfortable? Because Jesus commanded things such as "Pick up your cross and follow me." He requires us to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" in the Great Commission...and that commission hasn't expired yet, as far as I know.
But the god I've built would never want me to be in danger...right? Unfortunately, that's part of the deal. Crosses aren't known for being safe. Oh, and as we "go into all the world," Jesus makes sure to promise in John 16 that people will kill us, thinking they are doing a service for God.
Yay. That's comforting.
This doesn't sound like the god I've built. That's because He's not. He is Yahweh. He's not comfortable. He's not safe. CS Lewis put it this way: "Safe? Of course He isn't safe. But He's good."
Do I really want a comfortable God? Do I really want a God like myself?
No. No I don't. And even when I start to think "Oh, but I really do..." God reminds me that He is absolutely incomparable to any idol I could create.
" 'To whom will you compare Me? Or who is My equal?' says the Holy One."
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