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the
nature of God
by
john o'keefe
do
you want to see a religious person freak out? mention that you
disagree with them about their understanding of the nature of
God. it's guaranteed, the person will freak, and call you a heathen,
and worse. why? think about this, when you say "the nature of
God" what do you mean? how are you defining "the
nature of God?" what weight are you placing on what
word, and how important is it to you in the long run?
when i hear "nature of
God" i hear limitations; and to me God can not be limited by
human understanding. let me explain. john edwards
once said that God created humanity, because God could do no
other - it was God's nature to create. i recently came
across a denominations home page with the following "God's
nature is to love, because God can do nothing else but
love." i was confused by this. my confusion
comes from the idea that, if God can do nothing else - is that
not placing a limit on God? how can one say God is omni-powerful,
if God has a limit to power? if that were the case,
wouldn't that say, God is ruled by nature - be it God's nature
or another form of nature. if, and follow the logic, God
could do "no other" but create (or love), God then is
ruled by the "impulse" or "predetermined
ability" to create (or love) and God is not absolute sovereign
over all - because God could not control God's own desire to
create (or love) - sounds like God needs a 12 step program to
over come the impulse.
do
a yahoo search on "the nature of God" and see what you
get. i got 22,900 (i love it when yahoo gives me such
clean numbers) website matches. currently books fill the shelves with this
catchy little concept - "what is the nature of God." people pay to attend seminars
led by people who change tons of cash so they can learn
"the nature of God." Baptists, Liberals, Conservatives,
Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutheran, Mormons and all the others claim
to have the "true" nature of God understood. not
only do they claim they got it right, they also claim that all
others got it wrong. they all define the nature of God
based on their limited understanding of that nature. they
insult each other, opening wounds that destroy relationships and
they do so claiming the love of God. why? i believe
it comes from our limited understanding of God and how God's
nature fits in our lives.
you
see, i believe God's nature is (and i could be way off base)
love, but not limited to love, understanding, acceptance,
openness, willingness and concern. now, i am going to
withhold quoting scripture in this article, because i desire for
us to see God in the totality of scripture and not one little
line taken from the larger. i truly desire us to see God
in total. for that to happen i need to refrain from any
quoting.
God
is love - but not limited to love. when we say "God
is only love" we pervert the nature of God. i have a
friend who believes in this thing called "tough
love." now, tough love has no scriptural basis,
none. love is not tough, love is kind. scripture
says that God can love one and hate another. but you see,
we have come to the conclusion that hate is the opposite of love
and that is not the case. hate is not the opposite of
love, indifference is the opposite of love. you see, the
devil does not hate, he is indifferent and God is not, and never
will be, indifferent.
God
is understanding - throughout the totality of scripture, and
God's recorded interaction with humanity, God has shown himself
to be very understanding. He has not condemned his
followers without giving them an opportunity to "get
right." he has sent prophet after prophet after
prophet; he has allowed for kings (even though he did not want
them) and judges; he has forgiven because he understands the
human heart.
God
is accepting - this one ticks people off. it ticks them
off so much that they create rules to close people off from God
- but God accepts all who come to him and ask him in to their
heart - everyone, without exception. now, when you do and
God accepts you (and he will accept you) you may need to make changes
in your live. but that is between you and God, not between
you and "billy bible thumper" down the road.
God
is open - if God accepts everyone - absolutely everyone - then
God must be open. because God is open we can go to him in
prayer and seek to find his way. God allows us into his
being. God encourages us to "come on in" and
delve into his holy spirit. God's arms are open wide, to
welcome. love and embrace.
God
is willing - God wants to do for us, he truly wants to do for
us. now, i am not talking the "prosperity gospel"
where you "give to the church all you have and God magically
gives you more money" - which by the way, you need to give
to the church for more money - and the process never ends.
i recently attend a service at a church a friend pastors.
he had a "guest speaker" who was preaching such a gospel
message. interestingly enough, i found it to be more of an
"infomercial" then a teaching - every time he hit a
point, he plugged a book he wrote, or a pamphlet he had for sale
in the back of the church. that is not what i mean when i
say God is willing to give you what you need. nowhere in scripture
does God promise to make you a billionaire, he does promise to
care for you if you let him.
God
is concern - God cares for us and he is concerned about how we
live, how we teach others about him and how we interact with him
and others.
when
people see you, do they see God? if you are a "child
of God" do people see in you God's nature? if you ask
the average not-yet-believer to describe the nature of God, they
would say - judgmental, closed, hurtful, non-caring and
mean. now, they did not describe God - they described
those who follow God.
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