Reflection:
A university college vicar always met the incoming residential students for the year wearing his clerical collar. Each year, some students, with embarrassment, would say, ‘You won’t be seeing much of me this year, Reverend.’ They explained it was because they didn’t believe in God. To that the college vicar had developed a standard reply: ‘Which god don’t you believe in?’
Typically, the students would reply with some variation of: ‘I don’t believe in a god who is hateful, vengeful and spiteful. I don’t believe in a god who is remote, unjust, enjoys sending people to hell, and just wants to spoil our fun.’ The vicar would reply ‘I don’t believe in that god either.’
The point: many people’s conceptions of God are radically different from God’s true nature and character. Both inside and outside the church, this is a fundamental issue.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God,” says A. W. Tozer, “is the most important thing about us.” Tozer said if we could read what comes into a person’s mind and heart when they think about God, we could predict with certainty their spiritual future.
In your heart what is your God-picture?
Prayer:
Father, I am sorry when I think about you in ways that are not true. I do not want to bear false witness about you in my mind. Thank you that in the person of Jesus you have given all people, including me, the clearest possible picture of what you are like.