God is Not Whatever YOU Want

One of the lines I picked up over the years is: “One of the greatest arguments for the existence of God is how he’s survived the ways his followers have misrepresented him.” Overwhelming numbers of people claim they believe in God. According the Pew Forum of Religious and Public Life, the number is 98% (from answers.com). From my experience, most people seem to know just enough about God to carry on a conversation about him (like they know what they’re talking about) and to draw firm conclusions about who he is (like they’ve got him all figured out). There’s lots of PRIDE and ARROGANCE when it comes to what people know about God. 

As someone who recently completed a Master’s degree from a theological seminary, I’d have to say the more I know about God the more I realize I don’t know. That’s not to suggest there’s an unsettling instability to my faith because that’s not the case. It’s just that the subject of God brings a new definition to the word, vast. God is knowable to the youngest child and those newest to the journey of faith, and he will absolutely boggle the mind of the deepest thinkers on the planet. 

When people attempt to describe God, they’ll often use the phrase: “God is ______________.” What gets inserted in the blank is usually an attribute of God’s character. First, we need to acknowledge the limitations of any language to describe a limitless God. There’s no way language or a single phrase is going to be able to adequately describe who God is. There’s only one phrase I can think of which comes close and that’s how God describes himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14: “I AM WHO I AM.” Even the title and description, “I AM”, is too vague for most people to fully comprehend. 

One of the more popular descriptions for God is: “God is love.” This is a hugely profound statement of God’s character, but it often gets downgraded by those who use it as an excuse. The phrase, “God is love”, does not fully describe who God is. Too often when modern minds think about “love” it’s filtered through life experiences. When “love” is connected to anything human it ceases to be an adequate definition of God. Any definition of “love” which doesn’t start with God will be a distortion of the truth. The fact that “God is love” doesn’t diminish the fact that “God is holy.” The fact that “God is love” should never diminish any of his other characteristics. Here’s several examples of how people may focus on one aspect of God’s character, but totally ignore others aspects:

God is LOVE, but that doesn’t mean he will ignore sin because “God is holy.” (Psalm 99:9)

God is PATIENT, but that doesn’t mean I can choose to always do what I want because I know he’ll always be there for me because “God is jealous.” (Deuteronomy 4:24)

God is FORGIVING, but that doesn’t mean I can ignore when the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin because “God is a righteous Judge.” (Psalm 7:11)

God is GOOD, but that doesn’t mean he won’t allow bad [suffering/consequences] into our lives, especially if it will draw us closer to him because “…he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.” (Malachi 3:2)

We need to be careful that we don’t just focus on the characteristics of God which are convenient and/or comfortable. While it’s correct to say God is: loving, patient, forgiving and good, there is so much more to understand about God. We need to be aware of our tendency to remain in the shallow water of our knowledge of God, and not be afraid to dive into the deeper waters of who he is. 

John 16:8-13 (New Living Translation)

8 And when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world's sin is unbelief in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the prince of this world has already been judged. 12 "Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”

ARE YOU ON SOMEONE’S SERVE TEAM?

In my recent posts I’ve been exploring what it means to support someone so they can make the move from good to great and achieve the maximum expression of God’s gifts in their life. So far we’ve looked at two very important ways: One, SUPPORT through prayer (May 23 ~ ARE YOU ON SOMEONE’S PRAYER TEAM); and, second, SPEAK the truth in love (May 25 ~ ARE YOU ON SOMEONE’S TRUTH TEAM?). 

In today’s post I want to look at a third way, SERVE where and when needed. While the first two ways to offer support focus on the spiritual and emotional aspects of being on someone’s team, this third way is highly practical. When we serve on another person's team, we’re going to break a sweat and get our hands dirty. We’re going to come alongside them to do whatever needs to be done so the person being supported can focus all of their energy and efforts on tasks which will bring the greatest return on their primary spiritual gifts.

Right about now you may be saying: “What about me? Where’s my support team?” I believe in the spiritual principle spoken by Jesus in Matthew 7:12 (NLT) “Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” (You may know this as the Golden Rule) In the New International Version this verse begins with the phrase: “So in everything…” In applying this “rule” directly to the theme of this post if you will commit yourself to serving on someone’s team there will be others who will want to serve on your team.

No matter how high a person moves up in an organization, or the level of success they may achieve in any pursuit, I believe there remains a need to continue to seek places and people where they can serve. I am not thinking of the type of serving where they can somehow benefit, rather serving which is completely other-centered and selfless. I vaguely recall a story told by Dallas Willard where the president of a prestigious university took a week of his personal time each year and traveled to another part of the country where he could serve. He didn’t do this because he was president of a university he did it because he was a follower of Jesus. We know Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). Maybe you’ve heard the axiom: The best leaders are great followers. I believe we can also say, the best leaders are great servants. These are ideas which run contrary to the self-centeredness which is so often pursued and promoted in our culture. Oh, well, as followers of Jesus we don’t take our cues from culture anyway. 

So, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to someone’s team and then begin to SUPPORT them through prayer, SPEAK the truth in love and SERVE them where and when needed. As you do don’t be surprised when you begin to see changes in the team which supports you.

ARE YOU ON SOMEONE'S TRUTH TEAM?

In my previous post (ARE YOU ON SOMEONE’S PRAYER TEAM?), we looked at what it means to offer support through prayer to someone so they can achieve the maximum expression of God’s gifts in their life. In this post I want to look at what it means to speak the truth in love. In Ephesians 4:15 (NIV) Paul writes: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” This verse has been misapplied in a lot of different situations, such as justifying saying harsh things to someone. “Hey, I’m just speaking the truth in love.” When I’ve been on the receiving end of these stinging attacks, I want to say to the person: “I wish you weren’t so loving!” A key in understanding the verse and correctly applying it in our lives is in the first word, instead.  “Instead” points to the preceding verses, where Paul is stating the purpose of what is often called the five-fold ministry of the church (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) and is specifically reflected in V12: “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (NIV) So, the reason for “speaking the truth in love” is so people will be fully prepared to use their God-given gifts in the ministry of the body of Christ (a term for the Church). In V14 Paul alludes to three things which are working against people fully functioning in their spiritual gifts: SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY; FALSE DOCTRINE; and WRONG MOTIVES. As I consider these three areas one of the things which is clear to me is how each have the potential to diminish or even destroy any effective serving [ministry] someone may have. Without much work I can think of highly gifted individuals who were ineffective or became ineffective because they were derailed by one or more of these areas. I have to wonder whether things could have worked out differently IF there would have been someone who possessed the courage and caring for “speaking the truth in love.” Maybe it wouldn’t have helped because people aren’t always open to correction, and none of us really likes being told we’ve got issues in our life. But maybe it would have helped.

Another verse which comes to mind related to speaking the truth is Galatians 6:1 (NIV) “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” It’s the word, GENTLY, which I believe is a key to how we approach someone when “speaking the truth in love.” We don’t come with an attitude, “Let me tell you how messed up you are or how you’re wrong.” We don’t come with aggressiveness. This isn’t the time to be forceful and pushy. The two words: LOVE and GENTLY, must determine our attitude. There’s no better definition of love than 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: (NIV) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.” Following this definition and description of love provides the greatest possibility our efforts in serving on someone’s “truth team” will be successful.

It’s probably obvious, but I think it’s necessary to state that “speaking the truth in love” has to function in the context of relationship. I believe the stronger the relationship, the more effective efforts in this vitally important area will be. It would be ideal if you were in a relationship, where there exists a mutual agreement to speak truth into each others’ lives in the vein of Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) “As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.” We all have blind spots, or things about ourselves we don’t see, either because we’re unaware or we’re successfully in denial. A good friend, who we’re confident is committed to our spiritual health and success, can help us identify those areas and deal with them. All of us should strive to be that kind of friend.

There have been many books and articles written on the theme, “caring enough to confront.” For me, the word “confront” puts the whole “speaking the truth in love” idea into a very intense context. I prefer to think of it as “caring enough to care.” Caring enough to speak up, when we see something (likely related to Paul’s three areas: IMMATURITY; FALSE DOCTRINE; and WRONG MOTIVES) that is hindering our friend from maximizing the spiritual gifts God has given them, is the only way to go. It’s easier to ignore the things we see. It’s riskier to speak up. But there’s too much at stake to remain silent.