December
21
Correcting
Distorted Views of God
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break
forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and
will have mercy upon his afflicted. But
Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me. (Isa. 49:13-14)
Notice the distorted picture
of God that was being held in the minds of the Israelites. They had a picture
of a God who was uncaring and angry because they were steeped in sin. When they
began to suffer the consequences of their rebellion they give up hope because
they felt that God had forsaken them and will not answer their prayers.
Sin always gives us a
distorted view of God’s love (Gen. 3:7-12). It is always Satan who gives us
these perverted pictures of our loving Heavenly Father (Gen. 3:1-6).
Thankfully, in the case of Israel, God immediately corrects their distorted
view of Himself, showing that He is more loving than the best of parents:
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I
not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy
walls are continually before me. (Isa. 49:15-16)
When we sin and suffer the
consequences of our rebellion, we can sense that we are forsaken and forgotten
by God. Yet God compares Himself to the best of mothers and says that like a
really good mother I could never forget you. However, realizing the selfish
nature of many humans, this comparison can only go so far. Someone could easily
cite numerous examples of mothers who have selfishly destroyed their own
children and forgotten them. Therefore, God goes even further to say that even
if a mother acts in such a selfish unnatural way, I won’t.
God is the prime example of
what a parent should be like. Parents often fall short of the true ideal (God)
and God should not be compared to our human parental failures which are often
born out of selfish motives. Distorted views of God are the major contributors
to a lack of trust in Him.
Jesus echoes this same thought
concerning God some centuries later (Matt. 7:7-11). God is the model parent.
Let us stop looking at human parents to get our understanding of God. Let us
look at God to see how parents should begin to act. Being a good parent will
begin with the right understanding of God’s character and nature.
http://www.vindicatinggod.org
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