Dear People Whom God Loves,
All of our images of God limp. There is no way that we can fully—I would say nearly fully—describe God. The best of our doctrines and images point to what God is. That is valuable and necessary, but God is always much more and beyond the best of our doctrines and images.
That being said, the images of God are essential if we are to think about and relate to God. Some images do a better job than others. I suggest the image of Awesome Love, that is helpful to me, can be valuable to others. I find that the two words together are more insightful than either word alone.
In the past, the image of God was awesome. That image pointed to God as the Supreme Being. He—and we always used the word “he”—was all powerful, all knowing, the judge of all our actions and even our thoughts. He demanded strict obedience. If we followed his rules strictly, He would reward us. If we disobeyed, He would punish us. This would end with us enjoying the bliss of heaven or the torments of hell. This state would last forever.
I admit that this is a caricature, but I believe it will resonate with many of us, especially those of us who are older.
With this image, God was indeed awesome. That is the plus. The minus is that it easily led to our relationship with God as one of obedience based on fear. It also meant that the prime virtue is obedience. In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the older son (not the prodigal) resembled this kind of spirituality. He was obedient but also self-righteous and devoid of compassion.
This is the God with a frown. I suggest that we keep the “awesome” and—at the same time—let go of the fear-based relationship with God. This can be done.
Smile, God Loves You
Father Clay
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