In our world as we know it today – we have many different religions, faiths, cults, and “paths to god.” Some might say god is a woman, a spirit, a tree or just a feeling. God is our conscience or an evil puppeteer tormenting us as his experiment.
As Christians when we speak of “Our God” we are usually referring to Jehovah, God Almighty, the God of the Bible. But when we make blanketed statements about how our God views us or others we must take caution and be sure that we are speaking His Truth and not our own version.
So many times I’ve heard it said –
My god loves me where I am. Or My god doesn’t judge me. Or My god knows my heart. Or My god would never send me to hell.
Well my question then is – Is YOUR god – the One True God or a god you’ve created to fit your needs?
No one likes to picture God as our judge and condemning us to hell. We all want to view Him as our loving Father or Friend who has wonderful treasures waiting for us. Religion is much easier to swallow when it makes us feel good, but the truth is that God is a jealous God and He very specifically tells us in His first commandment – Thou shall have no other gods before me.
So how do we fall in danger of creating our own “idols” and versions of a false god? To say “My god doesn’t judge me” – would be anti-Biblical. God is the ONLY one who has the right to judge us. To say “My god would never send me to hell” – would be a stretch as well. While God may not want us to go to hell, He will only forgive those who repent. To use “My god knows my heart” as a justification to live in blatant disobedience would also be a sin. And to say “My god loves me where I am” can be likewise seen as an excuse to never move toward change. None of these things are a characteristic of the God of the Bible.
The challenge here is to KNOW the One True God so that when you say “My God… fill in the blank” you will not misquote Him, misrepresent Him or create a fake god. Get to know the God of the Bible and see that He does have wonderful plans for you and your life. He does know your heart and He sees your struggle. He does love you and longs for you to intimately know His heart.
Dig Deeper: Psalm 18:2; Psalm 25:2; Psalm 31:14; Philippians 4:19
Prayer: Lord, You are My GOD. Help me to truly know You and to only worship You. Guard my heart from being distracted with worldly views and help me to never fear Your Truth. I accept the good plans You have for me and I thank you for challenging my life so that I may become the person You desire me to be. Amen.
Disclaimer – Please don’t allow anyone – not even us – to dictate your walk with Christ. When you stand before the Lord – you will stand before Him alone. You, alone, will be accountable for your actions. It’s a serious responsibility. So dig into the Bible for yourself and challenge your heart to find the truth – not YOUR truth but God’s truth for you. The Word says to seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened.
This is so true, Kori! When we make statements like you mentioned, then we fashion God into being the god we want Him to be so that we can keep doing what we want to do. In doing this, we create a self-made idol, a false God. Thank God that He loves us and desires our fellowship even when we do such foolish things. If we continue seeking the “One True God” and if we are willing to learn of Him, He will reveal His love and His purpose for our lives. Reading His love letters (The Bible) and communicating with Him (prayer) are the ways to begin that beautiful journey. I have been on that journey for 40 years, and God has never failed or forsaken me!! He is real and faithful!
Kori … I’m slow but I do get there eventually. I just now got around to reading some of your older articles and this one strikes a resounding chord. I’ve been around people who use that phrase “My God” and it has always been in a tone of personal ownership of a personally designed God. In other words, as you have stated so well above, they sat down at a work bench and carved a “God” of their own design with little or no real knowledge of who God is, or of the the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. Then they take this “creation” of theirs and place it on the mantle for all to see, while they proclaim it as “their” God. It’s been my experience that these “Christians” are further from the truth than someone who has never set foot in a church or chapel. Thank you for a well stated commentary.
Thank you for an excellent article. I couldn’t agree more. It’s sad but true that people are sometimes unable or unwilling to grasp that God is God and that our opinions do not change the reality of His word in the slightest. I do agree with the statement that God doesn’t send anyone to hell, though. He has done everything He can without interfering with free will to send everyone to Heaven but since there is truly only one way, we all have to choose to go the way He sends us – through Jesus.