Images of God

I treasure the pictures that my children drew of me when they were quite small.

Their kindergarten efforts at making a Fathers’ Day card were often accompanied by a hand-drawn image that they believed represented me, their Dad. Their very first attempts usually featured eyes and a mouth which was smiling, inside a circle on top of two long sticks. As the years passed I developed a body, which was usually adorned in brown and gold stripes representing the football team I barrack for. I in time also grew hair – at first just a few long single strands, in later years a messy mop, then also a big nose and big ears, which is pretty close to the mark!

Now that my older children are teenagers, their attempts to draw me now would include the correct eye colour, silver-flecked hair, and a body somewhat in proportion to the real life model, whilst still including the big ears.

As God’s children, we too can sometimes create an image of God that is incomplete or inaccurate. And that is the image we hold tightly to. The God who is always angry, or always watching to catch us out, or God who is distant and uninterested, or the God that controls every minute details of every human’s life. The God who loves us but never disciplines, or the God that disciplines because He loves us. The God who is always testing us, or the God that always lifts every single burden.

I read recently of a man describing how his view of Jesus changed throughout his life. It began seeing Jesus as a sheep-carrying, tender-hearted, friendly softie. It developed and changed into hero, and at other times things like guru, teacher, miracle-worker, rebel, and Saviour.

The Bible describes God in various ways, highlighting different characteristics, and these can be seen in the life and person of Jesus. And they are broad and detailed – not stick-figure like. With the most important being the capacity to love.

As my children matured, they were better able to represent their picture of me.

As God’s children, we mature through various spiritual disciplines and activities such as our reading of God’s Word, prayer, service etc. And hopefully as we mature, we are able to form and represent an image of God that is closer and closer to the real thing.

May we each learn to hold our mental images of God a little more loosely.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington