By Pastor Greg
I have a very bad habit of taking
popular song and twisting the lyrics. I
do it for Christmas Carols. “Later on, we’ll perspire, cause we’re sittin
to close to the fire”. I do it for
popular rock songs. Instead of singing “It’s a hard day’s night”, I’ll sing “It’s a long sermon, and I’m sleeping like a
log”. I’ve learned that there are
others who do the same thing. And no
song is sacred. I once heard a favorite
Christian song for children twisted into “Jesus
loves the predestined children, all the predestined children of the world. Jesus only loves a few, not you or you or
you. Jesus loves the predestined
children of the world”. People even
twist Jesus and Christianity into songs that make us laugh. They should make us cringe, though. One song, made popular in the movie Cool Hand
Luke, proclaims “I don’t care if it rains of freezes as long as I have my
plastic Jesus sittin on the dashboard of my car. Through my trials and tribulations, and my
travels through the nations, with my plastic Jesus I’ll go far”. Yes, it makes me giggle. But the world doesn’t need a plastic Jesus. It doesn’t need a pocket God either.
A number of years ago someone created a game called Pocket God. In the game, you are god to a group of people living on an island, and you decide what their life will be like. But based upon some of the choices, it seems the developers sure have a twisted idea what “God” must be like. Considering that some of the options are throwing people into volcanos, using islanders as shark bate, or creating earthquakes to destroy their homes, it appears that God, at least for the developers of this game, is nothing like the God we read about in the Bible.
In biblical times there were many different gods. But you just don’t hear of this today. You don’t hear people worshiping some strange deity who is the god of thunder and lightning (which would be Thor, by the way). No, today we are much more educated and civilized. We don’t believe in many gods. For the most part humanity only believes in one. But WHAT that God is like is a matter of personal opinion. Oh, we might believe in one, but we’ve created Him in our own image.
There a many different opinions about God. Some people form their opinion of God based upon personal likes or dislikes. Some form an opinion of God based upon their personal experiences or observations. In effect, many people have created God in their own image; their own pocket god, so to speak. But rather than form an opinion, perhaps it would be better to simply ask God what He is like; to turn to Him and ask, “God, show me who You really are”.
Like most of us, Moses had a desire to know God. He wanted to know what He was like. Moses prayed, asking to know God’s ways (Exodus 33:13). In this powerful encounter with God, Moses learns what God is like. As Moses falls on his face, the Creator of the Universe reveals His heart. God actually describes Himself to Moses, and I believe it is a description we all need to hear. “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations”[1] (Exodus 34:5-9). This is the personality of God. This is who He is. This is how He feels and acts toward humanity. It’s nothing like the Pocket God some have created.
As God reveals Himself to Moses, He points out several characteristics that help us determine just who God is and what He is like.
·
God
is Compassionate – He actually cares about what we face in life.
·
God
is Gracious – He will abundantly provide for us
·
God
is Slow to Anger – He demonstrates an amazing amount of patience
·
God’s
Love is Steadfast – His love for us does not waver and is not conditional
·
God
is Faithful – He continues to walk by our side and never abandon us.
If we want to understand God’s heart, then we need only to look at these characteristics of God. But God isn’t finished yet. After He describes Himself to Moses, He tells Moses what all of this means. It means that:
·
God’s
Steadfast Love is granted freely to all – In other words God’s love is given
not as part of a contract, but given even if we fail; even when we fall; even
when we sin. God doesn’t love us less
when we disobey or love us more when we are perfect angels. His love is the same – steadfast.
·
God
chooses to forgive injustice (iniquity), violation of His Law (transgression or
rebellion), and missing the mark (sin).
This is God’s everlasting Character. And His character is eternal. He does not change. Throughout the Old Testament the eternal Character of God is repeated over and over again. We read it in Number 14:18, in Nehemiah 9:17, In Psalm 86:15, 103:8, and 145:8. Joel mentions it and Jonah confessed it. In those moments Israel was reminded that Yahweh is no Pocket God. And He is the same today as He was when He described Himself to Moses. Everything we know and understand about God is guided by this revelation. I know God is not vengeful and spiteful. I know God is not impatient. I know God does not love me more or less than the next person. I know God is watching over me. I know He will not abandon me. I know this because this is who God is.
This is God’s everlasting Character. And His character is eternal. He does not change. Throughout the Old Testament the eternal Character of God is repeated over and over again. We read it in Number 14:18, in Nehemiah 9:17, In Psalm 86:15, 103:8, and 145:8. Joel mentions it and Jonah confessed it. In those moments Israel was reminded that Yahweh is no Pocket God. And He is the same today as He was when He described Himself to Moses. Everything we know and understand about God is guided by this revelation. I know God is not vengeful and spiteful. I know God is not impatient. I know God does not love me more or less than the next person. I know God is watching over me. I know He will not abandon me. I know this because this is who God is.
However, these characteristics of God also mean that:
·
The
guilty will be punished, and
·
The
consequences for their injustice will be felt for the next three or four
generations.
In
other words, one day God will hold us accountable for our sin but we’ve
discovered that He has provided a way to be forgiven of that sin. However, He will not always remove the
consequences of our sin. When we make
the choice to sin, we also make a choice to suffer the consequences of that
sin.
Over the past two months we’ve been studying the Majesty, Splendor, and Awesome Power of our God. To discover these things we’ve looked up, out, and within. We’ve discovered a God we cannot measure, a God more powerful than any of us can comprehend. We’ve seen His mercy, His faithfulness, His holiness, and His presence within all of life. And today we’ve discovered God’s eternal character. The reason I’ve pointed out these attributes of God is so that you might be able to truly understand who God is, what He is like, and get a glimpse into His majesty and splendor. I’ve been trying to help you see the real God. He is not wicked and cruel and spiteful, but loving and kind and patient. And neither is He soft and condescending and tolerant, but demands justice, holiness, and reverence. He is a God of truth and love. And this God, this Creator of the cosmos, holds you gently in His arms (Isaiah 40:11). This is the God I wish the world know. AND, this is the Jesus I wish the world would know.
Just as humanity is guilty of creating God in its own image, the same has been done to Jesus. People have formed all kinds of opinions about Jesus. Some of them not even close to being accurate. And since no one comes to the Father except through Jesus, doesn’t it make sense that we know who Jesus really is? And truthfully, I think the real Jesus will shock you. It certainly shocked those who spent time with Him while He walked this earth. When Philip begged, “Show us the Father” (John 14:8), Jesus shocked the world by proclaiming “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9); words which led some to have Him crucified.
So, just as we have spent some time discovering God, I’d like to take a couple of weeks finding out just who Jesus really is. We don’t need a pocket God. And we don’t need a plastic Jesus either. Let’s not follow the ways of the world and create Christ in our own image as well.
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 34:6–7).
LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
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