HOW SMALL IS YOUR god?

"The person who does not know the living God is condemned, by the gods of their own making".
These  small gods are petty and not that much better,if at all, than the rest of humanity.These small gods  that men and women have made for themselves ,throughout the ages,are jealous ,petty and lacking love and mercy, only a little greater than they themselves.They are  only a little stronger, only a little wiser, but never anything any better. Immortal they are thought to be and always afraid of their mortal children, they are conveniently protected by a too fortunate gift of immortality. These gods are always fighting amongst themselves and never it seems, ever lead by  good  and loving examples. Are the people ever transformed by these gods? Are the people who worship and honor these man-made gods ever transformed into loving,compassionate and forgiving people? I have found that people who honor the gods of their own making are just like their gods. And those who honor and follow the Infinite and true God sooner or later WILL be transform in that likeness as well. So who do you want to emulate? Do you have a small and petty god, a god that is not loving, nor do they care about what is going on in your life, nor help you try to change it?

Let me tell you about the True Living God. This God of abundant love and amazing grace has willed to give us everything we truly need ,as a free gift. Jesus left the realm of heaven and came to the place of death to show us who the Living God truly is, who gave His life so that we might live. That is not what any puny man -made god,has ever been able to do.

I think many times we as Christians bring with us to the Body, that is Christ, a small vision or expectation of who or what the True God really is. Many of us bring the man-made vision of god with us. Here is were our problems begin and end. I think many of us read into the Bible this very small god, the god of hate and fear that we thought we left behind. I think a major hindrance we bring to our Bible study is that we have in many places a too literal reading of scriptures and in other places our reading should be more literal. We fail to understand that although Scriptures are God Breathed they are written by mere mortals with their own beliefs,  filters and blockages. The Scriptures reveal the true and infinite God in the person of Jesus Christ and in all references to Him ,I take for the most part as literal, the rest I take as a means for the Holy Spirit to guide me daily in the way I should go. The Bible is a revelation of the 'experiences of God' that people have had, and the walk they had trying to figure out what it all meant to them. These people were not perfect in any way ,shape or form, but they experienced the Infinite God in personal and unique ways to them and the Bible is the stories of those encounters, with all the good , the bad and the ugly of their own personal natures put in there for good measure. We must also remember that the culture 2000 to5000 years ago is very different than our own as well! Our Infinite God does not condone all the behaviors we read about, and just because it is in the Bible does not make it the way God would have us personally to go now in this age, that is why we need our own personal encounter with the Infinite God and the personal guidance with that Holy Spirit on a moment by moment basis.

I read earlier this month that the author Anne Rice said she had left Christianity because of well ,Christians,  many leave for the same reason , but I ask  all of  you who have left Churches for that same reason : "Are you really more perfect than the rest of us Christians? Are you able to live the life of Christ better than the rest of us? Can you hear from God better than the rest of us? Are you always able to respond in all circumstances with total love, peace and forgiveness? Are you the only one that can read Scriptures as they were intended? If so , then you have made it to perfection, but please forgive the rest of us who are still in the process of becoming all that Christ would have us to be. I am glad you have made it, but please have patience with the rest of us because we are slow learners."

The Body of Christ the Church which is ALL  Churches and Denominations that  put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ are not perfect only the Head which is Christ IS. The perfection we seek, we will never fully comprehend nor master until Christ returns , until then the Church will have to learn to put their trust in the Living God  and follow after the Spirit of Christ. The Church is a family and like all families we are a disfunctional lot most of the time, but once in a while we get it right, but hey, that is why we are family we need each other to help  when we are not able to get off the ground and stand up by ourselves,  you see, we have to embrace one another before we can get up on our own 2 feet, and that is why we need each other and it is not wise to go it all alone.
The Infinite God I love has told us that we will know His true followers by 2 things............LOVE, for God and one another and  by our FRUIT. So if you go to a church that does not have these signs, then either stay and love and guide them back to God  , or go to a Church that does have fruit and love but either way let the Spirit of God lead you  in the way you are to go, it won't always be the same guidance for everyone, some are told to stay and love and others told to move on.
So how small is your god? My God led by example in the life of Jesus Christ and I have chosen to follow him, as imperfect as I am.
Go in love and shalom
blessings