Hey friends!
Over the past several years, God has blown my mind with the riches of his love. He has completely reformatted all my ideas about who he is. I've discovered the true God, the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
You see, there's a thing that all people do. We project an image of God up into the heavens based upon familial experiences, Greek philosophy, what we've heard in church, et cetera. We wind up with a dictator on a throne. We've heard he has a son. At some point he vented his anger on this son to save us from hell (the "Latin Heresy," we'll get to that later). Those who have read the bible know the holy spirit came shortly after. It left the scene some time way back... unless you practice charismagic....
Our present situation is not unlike that of the first century. As St. John tells us, when the Son of God entered humanity through the Virgin Womb, he shocked both religious leaders and notorious sinners with the same radical message- My Father is way different than anything you've ever imagined.
After encountering this God for myself, I can affirm that he is good. He's not angry, He's not ever disappointed. He doesn't want to change me, make me feel guilty, or take away my fun. If I ever feel like he does, I'm deceived. Not deceived about what God is like, deceived about who God is. Any god other than the "for me" God is a mythical projection- a god that's only as real as my imagination, shame, and guilt will bear.
Anyone who has known me for more than a couple years can testify that I'm a radically changed man. I used to say this is because I hated God, but now love God. After growing in knowledge, my view has shifted. I despised the mythical projection god, then I discovered the God revealed in Jesus Christ- the Creator, Reconciler, and Redeemer of man. I still hate the mythical projection god, don't get me wrong. I've simply realized he's not a real god after all.
My heart burns with empathy for so many of you. Some of you are exhausting every resource imaginable in search of Jesus' Papa. For some, it's substance abuse. For others, it's a religious formula, a good behavior protocol to promote you before god. Maybe you can't identify, but this has been me-at some point it's been us all. We have written off god- if he's real, we don't want any part of him. Other times we have blindly submitted to the mythical god and the mediocre life that follows- what if we ask this God for a dance and he says no? It's too risky, let's say our Amens and be done. If you relate to these feelings, rest assured you're not alone. This is the story of all humanity, held hostage by her own brokenness and pain. For this reason the Father spoke his Word, Jesus Christ. He is the Word that shines in our darkness and says, "no child, you've had me all wrong." Ask yourself, does love hanging naked on a cross look like God to you? Does God hanging naked on a cross look like love to you?
If not, than I hope we can look again at this thing called the gospel. Originally it meant "good news." I think I know why.
My goal isn't to promote my favorite books, one-up someone's theological insight, or twist anyone's arm into a "repeat after me" prayer. I simply want to take my thoughts, what I believe are God's thoughts in me, and give them away to those discovering afresh Jesus Abba. My goal is to guide you in grace. Some of you are much farther along than me. Hopefully it will encourage you to see another brother reveling in Pappa's love. As always, I highly encourage constructive questions or comments. Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. God bless.
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