what's in a name...?

a lot of people have said a lot of different things about who, what, when, why, where, and how God is. people even asked Jesus himself, God in the flesh, and you know what he said? "I am."
I bet that really confused and maybe even upset people. kind of like in the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, where they ask the computer what the meaning of life is, and it replies "forty-two." -an important question, answered with such brevity and conciseness... it seems absurd and sort of wrong.

but really, this is the part of the show where words mean more, much more, and God is more than just a magician sitting in the clouds.

some people see God as a boss, in a sense. ordering people around, heading up the management, making sure everything is in the right place and all the papers are filed and people pay their taxes on time. but really, not many people like their bosses. some bosses are portrayed or may be mean and nasty, over-working and under-paying their own employees. bosses have schedules and timelines and deadlines and people to please. bosses have more bosses, who have more bosses with even bigger bosses who sit in leather chairs at their maple wood desk, mac computer and make a lot of money. in the world of bosses, everybody owns somebody else and there seems to be an everlasting authority. people die and positions are filled and removed and power is always changing, as are the rules and the employment benefits and the 401k.

some see God as a father, as he is often portrayed in the Bible. but that can be very discouraging, because some fathers are mean and abusive. some fathers scream at their wives and children. some kill themselves. some of them lie and cheat. some of them don't even pay much attention to their own families. and for those who don't have a father, it's hard to grasp the concept. so to see God as a father can be a negative thing. your dad has messed up, mine has. there is sin in our fathers lives. I don't want God to be like my dad.

others see God as a police officer or keeper of the law. always spoiling fun and laying down the law. giving detentions and jail time and taking away privileges. a pistol-toting, handcuff-slapping, dress-shirt-and-tie kind of a deal. but that is not good at all. It kills me when you're on your third grade field trip to the police department and they tell you that you can trust anyone in uniform. policemen, firemen, security guards, so on and so forth. and then that night, flip on the television, first story- Deputy molest young girl or something of that nature... police officers aren't always nice, and some people think they're jerks. quite frankly, some of them are jerks; they abuse power and take what isn't theirs. whether it's money or a child's innocence.


It's a bummer when people see my God like this.

God isn't a boss. he doesn't have timelines and project proposals. he doesn't have meetings to attend and papers to file and taxes to pay. God doesn't do conference calls and staff meetings and layoffs. God is not Donald Trump, and heaven is not an office building.

God is not the kind of father you know. he is a heavenly father, and heaven is perfect. so therefore He is a perfect father. he has more than enough time for you. he always wants to listen to you. God doesn't carry guns and he doesn't yell and scream. he won't hit your mom and he certainly won't molest you. God won't get distracted by his job because the only thing he does is love us. that is a pretty sweet occupation, because he made us and it's good to love things you make, especially when they're beautiful, which we are.

you hate what you make- well, not if you're God.

God is not an officer. he doesn't carry handcuffs and he won't hit you with a baton or make you walk in a straight line and breathe into machines just to know how to punish you. God is also not a principal. he doesn't give detentions or scold kids who disobey. he doesn't have an office and he's not gonna call you in every few days to "look over your file, and just see how you're doing". he won't call your parents and he certainly will not expel you. Heaven is not an academy or a jailhouse...


so who and what is God? we've often heard that love is God and God is love, so let's define love, shall we?


The love chapter:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says this:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

there it is, sort of. that is God. but he is more than that. when he says, "I am," he is reminding us that he is absolutely perfect. he is everything that is good and right and lovely and true. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, hope...he is these things and oh so much more.

God isn't going to leave you. he's not going to forget about you or look down on you for the things you've done. we've done so many wrong things. God won't ever stop loving you or caring about you. ever.

Myths. a lot of people think that God only loves people who do good things for him. and some people only do good things for God because they think that's how they make God love them. but that's not true. the truth is, God loves us no matter what we do or don't do. we do good things for him because he loves us, not so he will love us.

God doesn't kill people. Christopher Columbus came to America and killed all sorts of people in God's name. the crusades were all about killing people in God's name. people have killed other people in God's name for hundreds and thousands of years. I don't think God doesn't want that. It's our sin that makes people die. whether they die slowly from a disease or are killed.

God doesn't favor anyone. I've heard it said countless times that God favors republicans and tax-payers and pro-life supporters and church-goers. but that is not true, and you shouldn't believe it. God created everyone equally, in his own image, and he loves all of us. and that includes prostitutes, drug addicts, drug dealers, thieves, murderers, homosexuals, abortionists, slave traders and yes, even illegal immigrants.

God didn't make anyone better than anyone else. he simply made us different. and we don't love our differences the way we should. we start wars and shed blood and pull knives and scream and yell and throw punches because of the way God made us. that is kind of silly, in my opinion. don't you think?

God is not a religion. I posted a "note" about this a few months ago, although it was rather short. I don't do things for him so he will love me. I do things for him because he loves me, that is what is important.

faith, true Christianity, is not a religion. it is more of a relationship. God loves us and he wants us to love him. he has eternal life for us. he has forgiveness and patience and kindness and gentleness and love and all sorts of great things to give us. he has a brilliant plan in the works just for us. me and you. but we can't have it if we don't know him, if we don't love him... but we must make sacrifices. we must give up our old ways, because they're not the best ways.

God wants us to talk to him. he knows our hearts and he knows our minds, but he wants to hear it from us. he wants to hear us spill our hearts to him. he wants us to ask questions and listen for answers. God didn't give us all the answers, and there's a reason for it. we have someone to turn to when we need help.

God is everywhere, all-knowing, all-powerful, the almighty. and God is real.

it's not a battle of who's right and who's wrong, who is true and who is false. because we're all equal.

life should not be a battle.

love is not a business, and God is not a monster.


I want to know something...

how do you see God?

we're in this together, so why not make the most of it?