"Our danger is to water down God's word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He suits me to fit His word." O. Chambers
Do I really need to say anything more than the quote above? Do I really need to expound with some sort of commentary? For a lot of you I don't. For some of you I do, even though you'll get a bitter taste in your mouth. (That's your warning btw, if you want to quit reading now so you don't feel mad at me...or whomever!)
See we humans have a problem. We think it's all about us. We think that God should be and is who we want him to be, whatever that is. When he's not, or so it seems in our estimation, we get offended with him. We decide he's not real. We begin to pick and choose parts of the Bible that apply and don't. We begin to make the Bible fit our "all about me" beliefs rather than allow the Bible to become weaved into the very fiber of our beings. We do what Chambers so correctly pointed out above, we water down God's word to suit ourselves because we can't fathom that he might actually have a different thought process than us. (See Isaiah 55:8-9)
Wait a second here. Who made who?
That's the first question to ask. Who made who? The answer most of us know or rather believe. God made us.
So with that question answered the next one I am compelled to ask is this, if God made us then isn't it true that we are made in his image and he is not made in ours?
And if that is true then you see the problem of trying to make his words fit us (and our beliefs) rather than allow ourselves to be fit to him. His words have been hand tailored, specifically made to fit us - every nook, cranny, crease, fold. Our way of looking at his word is like trying to squeeze into jeans too tight or trying to make a pair of pant 15 sizes too big fit. It ain't gonna happen and it looks pretty silly/horrible/uncomfortable. But if we would breathe deep and quit trying to make God into our image, and therefore trying to make his words fit us, and instead allow his words to clothe us - a perfect fit I might add - then we would rest easier. We wouldn't feel so uptight and offended. We would have a more accurate picture of this amazing God who created the earth from nothing and brought life from breath. Trying to make his word fit our messed up theologies only serves to provide an inaccurate picture of God to ourselves and others.
Give his word a chance - allow it to be truth, study it for its full meaning, let it challenge your beliefs that have been molded by culture and society around you (all of us are guilty of this), don't be afraid of his hard truths - there is purpose and reason behind them. Wear his words like a well tailored suit that makes others around you take notice and appreciate your fine form.
Do I really need to say anything more than the quote above? Do I really need to expound with some sort of commentary? For a lot of you I don't. For some of you I do, even though you'll get a bitter taste in your mouth. (That's your warning btw, if you want to quit reading now so you don't feel mad at me...or whomever!)
See we humans have a problem. We think it's all about us. We think that God should be and is who we want him to be, whatever that is. When he's not, or so it seems in our estimation, we get offended with him. We decide he's not real. We begin to pick and choose parts of the Bible that apply and don't. We begin to make the Bible fit our "all about me" beliefs rather than allow the Bible to become weaved into the very fiber of our beings. We do what Chambers so correctly pointed out above, we water down God's word to suit ourselves because we can't fathom that he might actually have a different thought process than us. (See Isaiah 55:8-9)
Wait a second here. Who made who?
That's the first question to ask. Who made who? The answer most of us know or rather believe. God made us.
So with that question answered the next one I am compelled to ask is this, if God made us then isn't it true that we are made in his image and he is not made in ours?
And if that is true then you see the problem of trying to make his words fit us (and our beliefs) rather than allow ourselves to be fit to him. His words have been hand tailored, specifically made to fit us - every nook, cranny, crease, fold. Our way of looking at his word is like trying to squeeze into jeans too tight or trying to make a pair of pant 15 sizes too big fit. It ain't gonna happen and it looks pretty silly/horrible/uncomfortable. But if we would breathe deep and quit trying to make God into our image, and therefore trying to make his words fit us, and instead allow his words to clothe us - a perfect fit I might add - then we would rest easier. We wouldn't feel so uptight and offended. We would have a more accurate picture of this amazing God who created the earth from nothing and brought life from breath. Trying to make his word fit our messed up theologies only serves to provide an inaccurate picture of God to ourselves and others.
Give his word a chance - allow it to be truth, study it for its full meaning, let it challenge your beliefs that have been molded by culture and society around you (all of us are guilty of this), don't be afraid of his hard truths - there is purpose and reason behind them. Wear his words like a well tailored suit that makes others around you take notice and appreciate your fine form.
Comments
Post a Comment