A Right View of God

For jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom. Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts. Proverbs 6:34, 35

Ever know someone whom you offended and no matter what you said or did to try to make up for it they refused to forgive you? From that day forward you were no longer a recipient of their love or friendship. Arms that use to hug you warmly upon a greeting were no longer extended to you. Disgust marked their face, cold shoulders were apparent, and the permanence of their view of you was felt.

It took a long time for me to see that my view of God had such distortions. Every day was lived under the feeling that I had offended Him and I learned to shy away from the One who longed to draw me close. He wanted very much for me to see how willing He was to forgive me. I didn’t know that the father of the prodigal son was an exquisite picture of God when any of us return to Him. I didn’t know His longing and heart’s desire was for reconciliation. He is a God who invites us to come to Him for any reason!

I sometimes wonder what it would be like had there never been a ransom paid for my sin by Christ on the cross. If God had never been satisfied by the death of His Son. At the age of 14 I was very concerned about where I would spend eternity. I did not understand death, Heaven, or Hell. As a matter of fact, I thought when a person died they just stopped existing and that scared me…..at times even put me in tears. I cannot imagine what it would be like as an adult in my late forties if I still did not know the truth about God and where I would be spending eternity.

Thirty-three years ago God helped me to settle the issue of my salvation. Now decades later He continues to help me see His acceptance of me every time I come to Him with a need for forgiveness and reconciliation. I am cowering less and approaching Him more with the awareness that His love really is everlasting. No, He is nothing like the person described in the passage above. Today I walk in the awareness that He is my loving Abba and that definitely changes everything for me.

Father, the image I had of You never fit and for so long I didn’t understand why. Thank you for opening my eyes to the truth about yourself. Amen.