A DISTORTED IMAGE
OF GOD
Not by appearance shall he judge... – Isaiah 11:3
One day, a man came up to me and said, “Bo, I feel God is angry at me
today because I missed my prayer time. I’m afraid that He’ll punish me.”
Friends, I knew that feeling very well. Because for years — decades — I
used to think at way. Yes, I once had toxic faith. For 20 years, I
worshipped a judgmental, wrathful, vindictive and legalistic God.
Why? Because our intellectual image of God is very different from our
subconscious image of God. The latter is much deeper and more difficult
to change.
I used to pray daily out of fear of God’s punishment. Do you know how
absurd that was? Imagine a father calling up his son and growling,
“Ingrate! You don’t visit me anymore. I’m going to put a curse on you if
you don’t visit me right this minute.” What kind of father is that? And
yet we imagine God to be like that.
Today, I still pray daily, but I do so because I love to pray. He
blesses me, nourishes me, and fills my heart with love. If I do miss my
prayers, He doesn’t throw lightning bolts at me.
Friend, God understands us more than anybody else. That’s why He became Man. Merry Christmas! Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)
Reflection: What is your image of God? How do you relate to Him?
Heal my wrong image of You, Lord.
Blessed John of Vercelli, pray for us.
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