25/05/2026
We tend to see God through the colored lens of our earthly experience. So if our own human father was angry and abusive, we'd grow up thinking that God is angry and abusive. It would be difficult for us to think of Him as a loving Father, let alone have a loving relationship with Him. If we grew up socialized from young to have opinions and voice them, we might think these opinions are God's opinions. If we come from an environment that makes judgment about people, we might think that is what God does. If we grew up in a religious background that imposes all sorts of demands and expectations, dos and don'ts, our ideas and thoughts of God would be limited to One who is demanding, mean, expecting us to please Him or else. If we grew up in an environment of lack, poverty, sickness, it could be difficult for us to conceive of an abundant God who wants to lavish us with Heaven's resources.
He knows how our thoughts and ideas about Him are formed by our experiences and background. That's why God in His wisdom inspired the Bible to communicate with us the truth about Himself. That is why He sent Jesus; full of love, totally non-judgmental, friend of sinners, forgiving, compassionate, gentle, kind, gracious, always healing, bringing the dead to life, casting out what is not of God, changing the mundane into extraordinary like turning water into wine, increasing the little to meet the needs of multitudes (5 fish and 2 loaves to feed 5000), displaying the abundance and lavishness of God.
And that's why Jesus took our experiences, socialization into sin and failure, sorrows and pain, lack, sicknesses, to the cross. Because all these are not of God and hijacks us away from His type of life - one of love, joy, peace, abundance, happiness, prospering in all we do! In return for taking on our sins, failures, sorrows, Jesus gave us this God life!
God's ways are indeed far beyond what we could imagine because we are limited by our upbringing and socialization. But in Jesus, He has lifted our eyes to see Him as He is. In Jesus, we also vicariously entered this life of God, one of love, peace, joy, effortlessly prospering in all areas of our lives. God wants us to lift our eyes above our experiences, our circumstances, the ways of our thinking, opinion. He does not want us to put Him into the box of our experiences, but to see Him as He is.....full of love, not counting our faults against us, desiring our friendship and fellowship, wanting the best for us, wanting us to live to the full potential of all that He has already prepared for us.
If this resonates with you, pray this with me: “I thank You Jesus for Your finished work at the cross. I thank You, that You are Lord of my life. I thank You, that You have given me Your life, the Life of God. I thank You, that today I can look to my Father and say Heavenly Daddy! Open the eyes of my understanding, that I come to know You more and more, the extent of Your love for me. Replace my thoughts and opinions by Your higher thoughts and opinions. May I walk in the fullness of the love, peace, joy, prosperity in everything that I do. May I shine for You, Jesus, in this world that so needs to know You and Your love. Amen”
