Saturday, July 9, 2011

Love Redefined: Unlearning what you "know"


This was originally written as a devotional for students. It was originally posted as a devotional in a church devotional blog. However it is a great way to "reopen" the blog. You can purchase the book referenced in this post 66 Love Letters here.

“Sometimes – I hate to admit this – it seems that atheism explains what I see happening in this world better than Christianity. So many apparently pointless tragedies. So many unanswered prayers. So many people excited about experiences of You that so often to me seem contrived. (basically it means fake)
‘But becoming an atheist isn’t my real fear. I could say the same words I’ve mentioned before, words that CS Lewis wrote when his wife died: ‘I don’t think I’m in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about him. The conclusion I dread is not So there’s no God after all, but So this is what God’s really like’” (66 Love Letters #46: 1 Corinthians).

I have to confess this is me sometimes. Does that surprise anyone? I thought it might. Do you ever have to wrestle with the God that you make and the God that you see? If you don’t – why not? Do you just not think about it? Maybe it’s because of what I do – but I often struggle with this. Does anyone else find God complicated? Did you know that the God you have dreamed up is nothing like what God really is? I said the God you dreamed up – because we all have some idea of who God is – we have all concocted some idea of God based on what we already know about God and what we want God to be.

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. [Isaiah 55:8-9, NLT]

I just want to throw that out there – you guys can chew on that for a little bit - feel free to come back to this if you want - it's still going to be here later.

Have you started to realize that about God? Have you begun to see a side of God that confuses you? Are you worried that God is different than the God you have made? He probably is - I don't think he is always a "happy-go-lucky" God but he isn't out to smite everyone either. Like the book of Isaiah reminds us God is not like us and our minds can't understand him. The minute you think you understand God he throws you a curve. I'm not suggesting that you should give up on trying to understand God. He wants to get to know you and he wants you to know him. Just be careful when you think you know everything there is to know about him.

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