"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, show us the Father?"
John 14: 7 - 9 NKJV
I had a interesting correspondence with a good friend who chooses to remain nameless this week about the perceptions we have of God and Jesus. How is it that, as believers, we tend to see God as angry or resentful, yet we see Jesus as loving and caring. Is Jesus somehow the kinder, gentler version of God? Well, we know from scripture that God and Jesus...are one in the same {John 14:9, John 1:1, Hebrews 1:3}. Therefore, when we see Jesus, we see the Father as well. This is the very same lesson Jesus taught Philip when His disciple asked for evidence of the Father {John 10:30, John 14:7}. Yet, all too often we hold God to a much harsher standard than we do Jesus. We see God as a stern, angry or resentful. However, when we see Jesus we see Him as kind and gentle. Why is that? Well, I believe that a lot of our own perceptions of God is based on what we hear about Him and our own life experiences. Unfortunately, most of what we hear about the nature of God comes from church teachings. How many of you have sat through Sunday sermons where God is claimed to be a stern and/or jealous God? I know I have. Indeed, if our understanding of God is based only on the old testament, one could be forgiven for having such a dark view of the Lord. However, remember that the old testament also included the prophet Isaiah's foretelling of the birth of Jesus, the savior of all mankind {Isaiah 7:14}. So you see, the old testament wasn't all fire and brimstone after all. Through it's pages we are reminded of Gods true nature, of His love for His creation. The same God you have such a dark view of is the same God who provided for the Israelites in the desert, redeemed king David and saved Israel's bacon on more than one occasion. But what about that mistake in the garden of Eden, you say? You mean our mistake? There is no doubt that Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, buying into the lie of Satan. The lie which said that they could be "Like God." Well, if you look into scripture you will see that they already were like their creator. Created in His very image. I like to think that Gods love for His creation prevented Him from punishing Adam and Eve with death for their transgression. Although, in a way, that death would come later.
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Hebrews 1: 3 - 4 NKJV
I will say, that in my own readings of the new testament I cannot recall ever coming away with a negative view of God. So, is it just in the old testament that our negative feelings are centered? I wouldn't go so far as to attach a negative feeling to the scriptures, for even in the old testament we see plenty of times where God reveals His one true nature. What is His one true nature? Love {1 John 4:8}. Yes, despite all of the fire and brimstone and grim warnings and dire circumstances, God has never once strayed from His one true nature toward us. We know this because we know that God, and Jesus as well, is the same yesterday, today and forever {Hebrews 13:8}. Yet, when we stand Jesus side by side with God, one is given a more negative view than the other. Knowing what I know about scripture and Gods one true nature, I believe that these feelings we might have about God are a result of our own experiences. We may have a bad church experience, been judged wrongly by Christian friends or felt let down by the Lord. All of these can lead to a negative view of God. Our own filter has become clouded. I get it. I've been there more than a few times. One of those times I became so angry with God for allowing my mom to die that I thought I would literally give up on Him. Now, that's a pretty harsh view against one who has never once given up on me. In time, I had to clean my lens to totally understand why God would not answer my prayers over my mom. My prayers were based on my needs, I wanted her to stay. However, Gods actions were based on His love nature, that she no longer be in pain. Had I understood that earlier perhaps it would have made her passing easier. So it is that our own experiences with the Lord can shape how we feel about Him overall. We do well to remember that Jesus is the express image of God {Hebrews 1:3}. When we look upon Jesus, we see the Fathers one true nature manifested through Him. Now that's a good man.
The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and My God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20: 25 - 29 NKJV
~Scott~
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