Not to pick on Tiger Woods, but his situation illustrates how easy it is for the general public to make assumptions about someone’s personal life. Yes, he represented good products – Nike, Accenture Consulting, even Buick cars. No, his public image didn’t tell the whole story. It was a distortion. Our view of Mr. Woods came from a mosaic of images that the media and sports world presented.
I’m convinced that this illustrates our tendency to embrace a distorted view of God. Church-life, countless sermons, thoughts and ideas of others, and our own experiences in this world have formed a composite picture of God in our minds. Some form a negative view of God that is not based in reality. Some hold positive – but equally distorted – views of God.
AW Tozer put it this way, “Whatever else it embraces, true Christian experience must always include a genuine encounter with God. Without this, religion is but a shadow, a reflection of reality, a cheap copy of an original once enjoyed by someone else of whom we have heard. It cannot but be a major tragedy in the life of any man to live in a church from childhood to old age and know nothing more real than some synthetic god compounded of theology and logic, but having no eyes to see, no ears to hear, and no heart to love…”1
How, then, do we come to a proper and accurate understanding of God? Equally important, how do we ensure that our children grow into a realistic perception of God?
There is no way around the simple answer – the Bible. Take every notion of God, every thought or interpretation, and set it squarely against the Scriptural record. If your child states, “God is love.” then affirm this by pointing out 1 John 4:8. If your child says, “God never gets angry.” then correct this with examples of God’s anger coming out toward human unbelief and rebellion (John 3:36, Romans 1:18).
We’re not allowed to make God into whatever image we so desire. He IS who He IS. And that reality doesn’t change one bit whether we prefer His qualities or not. Honestly, we reach a significant milestone in the spiritual journey when we let go of our Divine distortions and embrace the True and Living God. For who He is, really, is all that we truly need.
1. The Divine Conquest, by A.W. Tozer
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