Understanding God

“Jesus did countless things that I haven’t included here. And if every one of his works were written down and described one by one, I suppose that the world itself wouldn’t have enough room to contain the books that would have to be written!” John 25:21 TPT

How we understand God informs everything we do. Theology, the study of the nature of God, is incredibly important when it comes to knowing how God sounds and how God would treat people, including yourself. Depending on the theology we have constructed through our own experience or been taught, we may be giving God credit for things that aren’t really God’s heart. I know I have before. For us to have more understanding of God, we need to be aware of our personal relationship and experience of God. 

God is so much more than we can understand. John of the Gospels says that the works of Christ alone would fill more than the world could contain; the living, complete revelation of God the Father, in human form, did so many things that we couldn't record them in all the books of the world. I remember experiencing the limitations of a neat theology, with all the “right” answers, when confronted with hard questions. The answers that I could give were usually not satisfying to the other party and grew dissatisfying to myself.

Although our understanding is limited, that limited amount of knowledge shapes how we live our lives, and the most efficient way to gain knowledge is experience. Experiencing God as love will shape how we approach Him and others. Our guards will be down. We will be even more open to share what’s really going on in our hearts. We will experience intimacy with God and others like never before, and like one of our amazing staff members, Roz, says, we can be a non-anxious presence. How valuable would it be to experience a non-anxious God, someone that isn’t worried about what you have to bring to the table, and how valuable would it be to become a non-anxious presence yourself?

As you process these thoughts, let’s take an opportunity to ask the living God what the truth is…

Jesus, in what ways have my experiences informed what I think about God?

Jesus, in what ways do I have opportunities to reevaluate my theology for the better?

Jesus, how have I lived as a result of what I believed about God?

Jesus, what needs to stay and what needs to change?