Starting with God

If I were to identify the single issue that I hear from struggling believers (or those who are tempted to believe or are curious – you get the idea) is that we do not start with God. The craziest part is that we do not know it.

We tend to understand God from our own point of view – through the goggles of our own experiences and preconceptions. Sometimes we see Him through the church (which can be both a blessing and a curse). Sometimes we see Him through sickness or loneliness or even success.

Couple of examples:

Our fathers have/had a lot to do with how we feel about God. If our fathers were absent or harsh or loving or lenient or busy, we often see God in a similar way. But if we START WITH GOD, we discover in Exodus 34:6, “"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” He is by nature gracious. This grace is not selective or arbitrary – it is the essence of Him. He is slow to anger, full to overflowing with love, and always faithful. How is this different from your Dad? To see the truth, START WITH GOD and work your way to other people.

Our childhood church has a lot to do with how we feel about God. Was it formal and stuffy? Were the members “separatists” and did not engage the world around them? Was it full of hypocritical people? Was it warm and loving? Did the members hold long term grudges against one another? If we START WITH GOD, we realize in Ephesians 5:25, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” God and the Church are separate entities, and He recognizes her imperfections – that’s why He is longing to remove her stains and wrinkles. The Church does not always represent the heart of God, but He longs for her to and has the power to make it a reality. To see the truth, START WITH GOD and work through your ideas about the church.

Our circumstances have a lot to do with how we feel about God. I read an intriguing article last week about how the current economic crisis is God’s punishment of a self-centered America, and how a famine is coming. Our self-centeredness aside, I thought to myself, since when is our perception of God shaped by economics? Perhaps you suffer with an illness – is God unfair? Maybe your marriage has gone bad – is God unloving? Perhaps everything is perfect – does God arbitrarily bless you and not others? If we START WITH GOD, we learn in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This truth does not mean that He is immovable or distant, it means that the essence of Him remains the same whether it’s the Reagan Administration of the Obama Administration.

Lastly, our own choices have a lot to do with how we feel about God. I think people who have screwed up a lot tend to live with a lot of unnecessary weight (myself included). We remember the relationships we’ve ruined, the bridges we’ve burned, the stupid things we’ve said, the times we have fallen short of God’s ideal. It’s called sin. When we find ourselves unable to escape these moments, we live unforgiven – which is a miserable way to live – sad, troubled, paranoid. BUT IF WE START WITH GOD, we are liberated by 1 John 1:5, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” It is so important to understand that if we confess who we have been and who we are to God, it is in His very nature to forgive us. In Him there is no darkness at all, He WILL NOT VIOLATE HIS HOLY NATURE. In other words, no matter what others say and no matter what you tend to tell yourself, you are forgiven. God is not withholding. To see the truth about yourself, and to start living forgiven (!), START WITH GOD. See yourself in light of Him. Not the other way around.