Who He Is.

I really like seeing kids play with clay or playdoh. In fact, it is one of my favorite exercises in Catechism class to have the students open a canister of playdoh and create an image or a structure out of clay. We do this to better understand the text of Genesis 2 when God talks about His work of forming man out of clay, out of the dust of the earth. God forms us.

Do we ever form images? Wrapped up in the context of the first commandment (Exodus 20:3-6) is some very strong language about forming images. When it comes to who God is, the first commandment strongly, emphatically forbids us to form God. Why? Because God IS who He IS! Our sin-tainted understanding of who He might be only gets in the way of truly understanding and knowing God. He wants our impression of Him to be formed by the sculpting power (Hebrews 4:12-13) of the Word of God. 

What we form, we will eventually worship. Exodus tells us this:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5).

Instead, God uses the Old Testament and the New Testament to continually mold and develop our understanding of who He is. We may have concepts of God, right now, that deter us from seeing and experiencing the God of grace and truth. For example, some individuals have a conceptualization of God that causes Him to appear aloof and uncaring. Of course that is not true; we can see that when we drink deeply the truth of passages like John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave . . .” 

What are the images you have formed about God? Are they derived from your own thoughts or are they cast in the likeness of the God of the Bible as described in the Bible? This is a noble quest on which we rest our whole life and our eternity. It is noble simply because, the moment you have a better grasp on the true God, false narratives and erroneous thinking crumbles as the true, holy, loving, just God emerges from the shadows of our minds. 

He is a beauty to behold. One day we will see Him face to face and will marvel, gasp, even shudder at His greatness and majesty. Until then, pick up your playdoh or clay and start forming some images. But then recognize that the forming of the image of God must come from His Holy, sacred text: the Bible.

Blessings on your week!

Peace to you in Christ Jesus.