Focus Our Rethinking
“Transformation happens by the renewal of our mind. If we have never changed our minds, then maybe we are actively resisting the work of the Holy Spirit.” ~ author undisclosed to prevent bias
For the past several years, my thoughts have been consumed with serious wonder and deliberate contemplation of the majesty of God. Astonished at who I continue to understand Him to be, I marvel at His splendor, His incomprehensible forgiveness, His lavishing love, and His selfless plan of redemption.
I do not marvel at God because He is the All-Powerful Being. He assuredly is! Eternally existing as the universal superpower, however, is NOT what makes Him majestic, stunning, awesome, and worthy of our worship. What determines His worthiness is who He is in character and nature and what He is like - all His attributes. Previously, I was confused about the true character of God, which resulted in artificial worship. It was the expected and natural thing for a Christian to do, regardless how one really felt. However, for me, it often felt forced and fake, and without a true heart of worship, I frequently interrogated myself, thinking something was wrong with me. In recent years, I can't help but truly worship God for who I am understanding Him to be. I recognize now that one cannot have an earnest heart of worship until they begin to realize that He truly is marvelous in every single part of His being and that there is no part of Him that is not so.
Several years ago, I wrote about my abrupt spiritual earthquake in an essay titled, My Glass Wall – Shattered! God propelled me into this season of my spiritual journey, with a book that He impressed upon my heart to read, after it sat ignored on my shelf for nearly a decade. I’m convinced that by following those same promptings, I have been led into deeper intimacy with Him, which has resulted in more truth, peace, and love. Since then, I have continued to carefully consider what I believe and why. I have sought to keep an open mind, to wrestle with ideas, and to think critically rather than to blindly accept what has been handed to me, past and present.
Over the years, my worldview has been shifting. I would like to say that it is moving from biblical to Christlike. That process cannot be quickly explained, communicated, or understood. I did not arrive here suddenly, nor did I go looking for this spiritual upheaval. However, when I saw truth present itself, most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ, I couldn’t help but follow wherever it led. Along with the foundational years of my youth, it has taken much time spent reading, thinking, and talking to God through all of it.
Because I know that God is not a God of confusion, and as I learn more about who He really is, any unclarity, fear, or anxiety I have, dissolves into peace. I am confident that the flourishing trust, love, and the increased time I spend with Him are the telling signs that I am on the path He desires for me. The journey hasn’t been effortless, but I am constantly fueled to pursue God, by a ravenous thirst for Truth. I believe Truth can only be absolutely known through the infallible Source, which is the living Spirit of God as He has revealed Himself in Jesus and as He works in my mind and heart.
In the following pages (yet to be finished), I hope to escort you through the flow of my thinking and the direction of my ongoing theological shift. My mind is in a continual state of repentance and re-turning - turning away from who I thought God was and re-turning to who He has revealed Himself to be through Jesus; turning away from who I use to be and re-turning to who I am in Him. I see this as God’s gentle process of redeeming minds and renewing the way we think about Him, others, and the rest of life. I believe we are to see God through the eyes of Jesus, and in the course of time, we will truly be transformed toward His likeness.
The two prevailing questions on my journey have been, “Who is God, actually?” and “What is He like, really?” These are incredibly important questions because what we believe about God day-in and day-out will shape the way we live our lives and treat others around us - for good or for bad. These questions have spearheaded my study and ironically, rather than becoming more certain of my beliefs, it has brought relief in relinquishing the stressful burden of needing to be correct. It's not that I don’t want to have accurate thoughts about God. It’s just that our Christian culture has fallen prey to trusting in our doctrines rather than in God. (I’m not talking about things that have been accepted as historical fact.) We have hung our faith on a set of beliefs, which we think to be correct, rather than hanging our faith on the Creator. Over 40,000 Christian denominations believe they have interpreted Scripture correctly and many are ready to go to battle against those who, in their opinion, have interpreted Scripture wrong. When someone’s questions begin to unravel supposed truths that we have always just taken for granted, we might feel as if our faith is being shaken. BUT, when our trust is in the Creator, we can humbly speak of our differences without fear and anxiety, trusting Him to work out our thinking. Because my trust is in God and not in the certainty of a particular set of beliefs, with an open hand and a peace filled heart, I am now able to hold some issues loosely and honestly say, “I’m not really sure what I believe about that right now, but I am confident that God will work it out in His time.” He’s got me. My heart is inclined toward Him and that has freed me to think and consider without fretting.
However, if there is one thing to be certain about, it is Jesus! In my thinking, as I know Him from the gospels and from my personal experiences with His Spirit, I start with Jesus, end with Jesus, and always return to Jesus. He is the standard by which I do my best to measure all other things.
With that, let me begin.
Two of Life’s Paramount Questions:
1. Who is God, actually?· In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jn 1:1
· I and the Father are One. Jn 10:30
· Whoever see me sees Him who sent me. Jn 12:45
· The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all of creation. Col 1:15
· For in Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Col 2:9
· God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. 2 Cor 5:19
· No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God. . . has made Him known. Jn 1:18
· Being in very nature God. . . Philip 2:6
· If you had known me, you would have known my Father. Jn 14:7
· The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Jn 1:14
· Don’t you know me? . . . Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father?!” (Show us God.) Jn 14:9
· In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things. . . The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. Heb 1:1-3
* Does Jesus comprehensively represent the character of God? Is their character one and the same? Is the Son the impeccable replica, the perfectly whole image of the invisible God? Did God incarnate Himself in the person of Jesus, without deception of character or hidden agenda - Emmanuel, God with us? Are they united in mind, will, and heart?
2. What is God like, really?
If Jesus fully represents God and we know the Father by looking at Jesus, then God should also be:
Merciful
Gentle
Intimate
Kind
Loving
Submissive
Peaceable
Forgiving
Prayerful
Honest
Not boastful
Healing
Not envious
Not self-seeking
Honoring of others
Not easily angered
Not delighting in evil
Opposing darkness/evil
No record of wrongs
Repaying evil with blessing
Powerful for other’s benefit
Not counting sins against us
Enemy loving
Blessing enemies
Praying for enemies
Doing good to enemies
Taking care of enemies
Forgiving enemies
Coming, not to destroy people's lives, but to save them
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Etc.
· The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Character traits of God also, correct?)
· Love is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not dishonoring, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs, not delighting in evil, rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (God is love and these are the attributes of love; also attributes of God.)
· Humanity has not always known what God is like, but now that He has come in the flesh, is not the Father’s character just like the Son’s? If God completely incarnated into the person of Jesus, then can we know the heart of God by looking directly at Jesus? Does God walk and talk in the same ways that Jesus walked and talked? Should we not look at Jesus plus nothing if we want to know the true character and heart of God? If we claim Jesus as our God, are we not obligated to engage or contend with any portrayals of Him that do not look like Jesus? If something is not Christlike, should we consider the possibility that it is not God either?
If we are people who claim that Jesus is God, then we must always begin with Jesus, return to Jesus, and conclude with Jesus in our thinking about God. When we think about God, we should first think about Jesus. When we do, our wondering may naturally wander into some interesting and hopefully thought-provoking topics, things we may have never stopped to consider before. Remembering that our trust is in the Creator and not in our perceived certainty of doctrines, we can freely converse, with differing opinions, without giving ourselves over to anxiety or the condemnation of others.
With Rabbi Jesus by our side, thoughtfully examining what we have always believed, we can fearlessly forge ahead with questions, always searching the Scriptures, and then halt a moment to ponder where our Rabbi might be leading us. And like me, you may find yourself in some of the daring places my questions have led. Welcome to the great conversation!