The Image of GOD

The following is an excerpt from the first chapter of a book that I am currently working on…

I think a majority of people have a tendency to see GOD in one of three ways that do not reflect a true image of who He really is. It’s as though we see HIM through the reflections of the curved mirrors in a funhouse. There is some truth in what we see, but it is distorted and we believe the distorted view instead of what is true. We might see GOD as a power-hungry tyrant that causes pain in our lives just to see how we will react. Maybe we see HIM more like our sugar daddy or genie-in-a-bottle, ready to give us whatever we want or wish for. I think the most common mirror we look at GOD through is the mirror of ourselves. We see Him in our own image rather than HIS own image that has always been and will always remain unchanged.

When we try to add our own perception to GOD, it is like adding tetrahydrozoline to pure water. Tetrahydrozoline is the chemical compound found in eyedrops that can cause serious problems with the nervous system or even death if ingested. It is a tainted view of GOD that is poisonous to the soul. Adding anything to the GOSPEL is just as bad as subtracting from it. To add the GOSPEL subtracts the life that it promises. Conversely, sometimes our misperceptions about who GOD really is come from seeing less than all that HE is. It is as if we are looking at only one or two facets of a diamond without appreciating the fullness of beauty that can only be seen through the intricate complexities of the entire diamond as a whole. To know GOD by only a few of HIS characteristics is to not fully know HIM.

We must strip away everything we’ve added to the image of GOD in order to understand who HE truly is, and to really know HIM. But we must also look at everything HE is to see HIS perfection without our additions. When we have removed our own personal image of GOD that we’ve created in our minds, we can begin to see who HE really is, starting with the truth within HIS WORD. The BIBLE is the gold standard of truth and it should go without saying that a true image of GOD must come from the true words of SCRIPTURE…

The most effective deceptions tend to have some truth to them. It’s what makes them seem more real. The best comedians weave bit of truth from their lives into their sets because the truth is what people can relate to and laugh at even more. To build an untainted view of who GOD really is, we should look for the bit of truth found within the deceptions that we have believed and tear everything else away.