What does your God look like?

“God is Good.”
“God is Love”

“God is Light”

You’ve heard these expressions from the time you were a wee child. You’ll hear them in Hollywood, popular culture and in fact, from many churches. From these images, we’ve imagined the Almighty as the grandfather we never had. This elderly gentleman smiles at us, pats us on the back, and gives us our allowance. He doesn’t ask for anything in return. 

No wonder, when asked about eternity, eight out of 10 Americans will answer that God will reward them for being good.

“He wouldn’t send me to Hell, would He?”
“I’m basically good.”
“I don’t try to be bad.”
“Inside, I’m pretty decent.”
And so on the deceit continues.

It’s kind of a teeter totter of good and evil. In the end, which has more weight? The problem is that most of us live pretty good lives. Even the murderer says thank you at Starbucks, buys Girl Scout cookies and separates his recyclable material. It’s that one evil act that defines him. 

I didn’t have to teach my sons to do wrong. From their first moments, they were in rebellion against authority. No wonder “no” is often the first word they understand — it’s the innate nature that wants to push against right.  


Until we really get a grip that we aren’t born good, we’ll never experience the amazing. Once we realize that we aren’t part of some cosmic balance sheet or a ying and yang world, then we can get on with living for His Glory.


What does your God look like? Care to comment?