The Most Important Thing About Us

As I approach the three-quarter century mark of my physical existence I am fascinated by the value of connecting some of the seemingly random dots from my past. Today I want to share some of my recent musings that briefly brought three misconceptions of who God is together in a straight line toward a corrected view of who He is.

Several weeks ago I participated in a Men's Retreat with my son and several friends. The corporate pursuit of this weekend was for us to explore the question of "how does God change us?" During the first 24 hours, as God would have it, I revisited some of the perceptions I had of God which moved me away from Him instead of toward Him.

Picture #1

I distinctly remember the very first time I expressed what came to my mind when I thought about God ... in particular who I perceived Him to be. I was attending a conference and during a breakout session was seated around a circular table with a half dozen other people. We each had a piece of paper and pencil in front of us and we were asked to write down what came to our minds when we thought about who God is. I wrote down "hall monitor." 

I attended public school for 12 years and during the early years, some of those schools had larger people (adults) in the halls when we moved outside of our classrooms. These people attempted to monitor the behavior of pent-up students when they were in the hallways of the institution. They were forever shouting "Stop running! Walk!" These people were not my friends. They were imposing large people who had no relationship with me. They seldom if ever wore smiles and I was sure they didn't like ice cream. Rather a fascinating concept of God, don't you think?

Picture #2

The second misconception I had of God was that of a dentist. You do not really need my description or actions of a dentist if you have ever been to one. There is a pervasive attitude of anxiety towards a dentist that results in a connection with them only when necessary or expected. No one really wants to go to their dentist.

This person is the one who looks inside your mouth and immediately begins to talk about what you have failed to do to maintain good teeth hygiene. As they look for rotten teeth within your mouth they continue to talk about the virtues of regular brushing, flossing and cleaning by their hygienist ... responsibilities with which you have been dreadful. They are people who bring physical pain into your life after crushing your character as a sloth when it comes to the personal care of your teeth. Again, another disturbing concept of who God is!

Picture #3

A third misconception that came to my mind over my pivotal weekend with some other men was that of a bank teller.

There is nothing scary about a bank. The people working inside these financial institutions are friendly and accommodating. They are "friends" simply, out of necessity, if we need their services. You can get good things from them, but only if you make deposits. Our relationship with them is not unconditional. We can only make withdrawals if we continue to make deposits. Without deposits, there is really no use for these people. A drastically misrepresentation of God based on the lie that followers of Jesus must earn "deposits" in order to get the necessary grace and mercy.

I strongly believed that Jesus had vast amounts of mercy and grace but that I had to do "my part" to ensure that those needed virtues would be available to me upon withdrawal.

Connecting the Dots

The review I had of these misconceptions of God was so beneficial to me. It should be obvious that none of these misrepresentations of God would serve to draw people close to Him. In fact, they would do just the opposite. They are perceptions that result in a sense of futility.

In contrast, Dane Ortlund, in his book HOW DOES GOD CHANGE US?, writes "Growing in Christ is not centrally improving or adding or experiencing but deepening. Implicit in the notion of deepening is that you already have what you need."

There are other dots in my life that need to be identified and deleted so that I can go deeper in Christ. I am confident time will expose more misconceptions resulting in deeper intimacy with God.

The foundation of the mentoring course of Next Generation Ministries, called the One Step Course, is built on the invitation of Jesus.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me ... watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus defines Himself as "gentle and lowly of heart."

The first time I actually realized this reality in my life was at the age of 19. I was able to see my sin and my inability to do anything about its consequences. The good news is that I was being invited by Jesus to come to the foot of the cross and let Him do for me what I was unable to do. I despaired over my condition and He brought resolution. I was born again and became a new person. But it didn't take long for me to accept some counterfeit portraits of who God is.

What I have come to believe is that I need that conversion experience again and again and again. As a misrepresentation of who God is comes to my mind, I must reject it and instead embrace the reality of the One who invites me to come to Him ... the One who is tender and gentle of heart.

There can be benefits from despair. Despair should now and always be a catalyst for pushing me in the direction of who God REALLY is. When that happens it will bring God glory and me gladness as I go deeper with Christ.

These are some of the guys I hung out with as we pursued the answer to the question of how God changes us.