Build It Up/Tear It Down

I read a comment about God from someone today who was using a statement to attack another person's perspective on God. Okay, so the writer actually was quoting from the Bible when he said God is harmless (Hebrews 7.26), but it still bothered me, and I felt like saying, "You know what? God *isn't* harmless."

God could do anything He wanted. He could annihilate us all in this very second. He's a "jealous" God. Of course, He's slow to anger, but His righteous anger is something that's not petty or a "go to your room and think about what you've done!" kind of thing.

Sometimes I think we like to imagine God is harmless or some beatific thing that sits on a cloud and dispenses fairy-floss on golden sticks to the "worthy." Then it excuses us so much more easily when we sin. We've created God in our own image, rather than God being our creator and us being in His image. Or we like to think that God only has issues with those that we ourselves think are deserving. Or that He will just love us all forever and ever and not really be serious about that judgement thing or the living righteous lives stuff.

BUT... and this is important, kiddies, there'll be a test on it later...

God isn't harmful.

He's not someone to be afraid of. He's not going to annihilate you totally, because actually does He loves you - enough to send his only Son to die for us. That doesn't mean that we should be ignoring Him or pretending that He's some kind of "tame lion" (thinking the Beaver's description of Aslan here) who we can make do what we want.

By limiting God, we're limiting ourselves and our interactions with Him and our understanding of Him. I think God can be anything. He's different to each person who believes in Him. And none of us have it right or have a monopoly on what God is or isn't. Our human imaginations can't even comprehend how totally magnificent He really is. God's not a "tame God." He's both establishment and anti-establishment. Creation and destruction. The beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega. He begins where He ends. Perfection. Everything.

So maybe we need to start listening to what other people find God to be and what He means to them. We don't have to agree. We don't have to change everything we believe in. But it might expand our own perspectives :)