Distortions of God

By Kari Kennedy & Jessica Jones

CMI-382

Professor Don Perini

April 2, 2014

Journal

Table of Contents

Session 1: The “Only Loving” God

Session 2: The “Never Forgiving” God

Session 3: The Distant God

Journal Pages

The “Only Loving” God

Release

I was sitting in a small room across from a teenage girl. “Do you believe in Heaven?” I asked. “Yes.” “What about Hell?” “I know it’s in the Bible, but I don’t like the idea. I mean, if God is loving, why would he send people to Hell?” It seems like everyone these days has confusion about Heav-en and Hell - either believing that God is so loving that he would never send people to Hell, but will eventually save eve-ryone, or (as the next session will cover) that God is so wrath-ful that he won’t forgive the wrongs they have done. But, maybe the trouble is that we all have a misunderstanding about God’s love and his justice. Society, especially through the media, tells us that love is simply a feeling, desire, or affection one has for another per-son. We are taught that when we love others, we will do things that are nice for them - we will give nice gifts, we will say nice things, and so on. We are taught that this is what love is. We tend to think that if we truly love others, we will never do any-

Journal

Journal thing to them that may be seen as “bad” or “mean,” even if in the long run, it is for their benefit. We don’t just expect this in relationships with other people, but we expect God to act in the same way toward us. The problem is this: we tell ourselves that God is so incredibly loving that he will not do “mean” things, such as sending peo-ple to hell, or that he will not punish us for doing bad things - or, if he does, he will always end up forgiving us anyway. While it is true that God is loving and forgiving, we forget that he is so much more than that.

God is holy; he is set apart - completely unlike us.

God is perfect, and his standards are much higher than our own.

God is righteous. His very character is moral and virtu-ous.

God is just, he seeks justice for everyone and deals fairly with us, but he has set what is right and what is wrong and he will carry out justice according to his stand-ards.

Because God is holy, righteous and just, he cannot stand sin. Sin is any offense against God, whether it be disobeying one of his commands or choosing to reject him. When we do things that God says are wrong or we outright reject God, we sin. When we commit offenses against him, those offenses have consequences. Some of those conse-quences are experienced during our time on earth, and others are reserved for later in Hell. Therefore, going to Hell is a nat-ural consequence for rejecting God and failing to obey the guideline for life that he has given us in the Bible, which is his Word to us. And so we have it. God is both loving and just.

Prayer of Release

“Lord, forgive me for not understanding your love. I now know that your love is more than a feeling of affection for me; it must be understood as something entirely different. Please help me to comprehend what your love really is. Amen.”

Reimage Now that we know that God’s love is more than a feeling and is characterized by more than being “nice” to others, the ques-tion we must ask is how God can be both loving and just. First, let’s define what love is. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. It says: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It al-ways protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perse-veres.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) According to this definition of love, love is both an action and an attitude. Yes, love is patient and kind, it doesn’t consider itself better than others, and does not become angry easily. But, love also does not “delight in evil.” In other words, love does not find pleasure in sin. Love seeks the truth. But, what is the truth? This is the truth: God’s love, combined with his justice, ex-plains why Jesus Christ came to die for us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (NIV). See, God loves us so much that in spite of the offenses we commit against him, he sent his Son to suffer the consequence of our sin - death. Because God is just, sin must be paid for. There is no other way. But, because God is also loving, he has chosen to pay for our wrongdoing himself. He came and lived a sinless life - a life we can never live - and died on the cross in our place so that our sin could be paid for. Now, we don’t have to go to Hell. It is in this picture of God coming and dying for us that we see both his love and his justice fulfilled. Therefore, God is both loving and just. These are not separate ideas, but com-plement each other.

Repaint

Think for a few minutes about what you have been learning and then answer the following questions:

1. What do we mean when we say that God is distant? 2. What are some other verses in Scripture that affirm God’s presence in our lives? 3. Think about the thoughts or feelings you have when it seems as if God is distant. What do you think of when you know that God is with you? 4. What are some things you can do to remind yourself that God is always with you?

Read the passage again. What sticks out to you? Write down words or phrases within the passage in the space below.

Draw a picture of what it looks like when God is present with you.

Repaint

In the box below, draw a picture that shows how you used to view God’s love and justice.

Next, draw a picture that represents how you see God’s love and justice now.

In the box below, take some time to write about some of the things you have learned so far.

Repaint

Take a look at Michelangelo’s depiction of God and man reaching out to each other. How does this compare to your feelings of distance from God? (Write your answer(s) in the space in the picture.)

Using the space below, rewrite Psalm 27 by putting your name in it.

Here are David’s final words in Psalm 27… “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” We can say the same thing. We can remain confident and as-sured of God’s presence and see him working in our lives. Just because he is not physically present with us does not mean he isn’t here. And just because we don’t always see God’s work doesn’t mean that he isn’t working in us. He is here with you… right now. Yep… still here. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified be-cause of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV) If God said that he would be with the Israelites in battle, then he is be ever present in your life.

Reflection Think for a few minutes about what you have been learning and then answer the following questions:

1. Describe what God’s love looks like. 2. How does your description of God’s love fit with God’s jus-tice? 3. How might you think of God’s love and justice differently now? 4. What difference do you think this will make in your life?

The “Never Forgiving” God Release Remember the story in the last session, the one where a girl asked why God would send people to Hell? Well, here’s an-other scene which occurred just a couple months before that: There we sat in the same little room in chairs opposite each other and an end-table between. I flipped over the page I was taking notes on. “When you were growing up, were religious things ever a part of your life?” I asked. The girl sitting across from me answered, “Yes, I went to church. My mom is a Christian.” “Do you believe in God?” “Yes.” “So, who is Jesus to you?” “The Savior.” “Do you believe in Heaven?” “Yes.” “What about Hell?” “Yes.” “If you were to die today, where would you go?” “Well, I prayed to accept Jesus when I was younger, but con-sidering all the bad things I have done, I’m pretty sure I’m go-

him. His ultimate desire is to seek after God with his whole being. David knows that when enemies try to overtake him, God will come through for him. But take a look at the next few verses… “Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.” David’s confidence appears to be wavering. He knows that God is there for him, but he doesn’t see it. He’s crying out to God to be there for him. His heart yearns for God; he pleads to God to not reject him or leave him. Let me just stop and say this: everyone has experienced this. When we don’t see evidence of God working in our lives, it’s so easy to lose sight of who he is. When we ask for God to be near to us, and we don’t feel him, it’s easy to say that God’s not there. Remember the name of God that I used at the end of the “Release” section? Emmanuel. This literally means “God with us.” Emmanuel was used as a name to describe Jesus; He was God’s physical presence among us, and He continues to be present with us even today. His name still is Emmanuel, God with us.

Reimage

When I was experiencing a time of doubt and distance from God, I told my youth leader what I was going through. She led me to Psalm 27, a passage that I hold dear. This psalm met me where I was at, and it’s what I go to when I feel like God is distant from me. “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” The first three verses are describing David’s confidence in God. He has nothing to fear because he knows that no one can stand against him. Here’s why… “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.” All that David asks for is to dwell with God - to be present with

ing to Hell.” In the previous session, we discussed how God is both loving and just. Now, we are going to talk about God’s wrath (vengeance or anger) and how that relates to God’s love and the forgiveness he offers. As mentioned earlier, some people seem to think that God is so into seeking vengeance that he will not, and perhaps even cannot, forgive them for the wrong things they have done. We know that God is holy, righteous and just. We also know that when we do things that are wrong, we are offending God. Now, let’s look at God’s wrath. Wrath is another word that can mean “anger” or “rage.” The fact is that sin, or offenses against God, stir up God’s anger. Sometimes it seems scary that God would be angry with us for our wrongdoing. But, look at it this way. If someone were to decide to do something mean to you, like hit you or steal one of your things, you would be angry with that person. Why? Because they did something to hurt or offend you. Similarly, God becomes angry when we offend him. The only way to satisfy his anger and gain for-giveness is for someone to die (In the Old Testament, it was required that an animal be killed to pay for a person’s sin.) As Hebrews 9:22 says, “In fact, the law requires that nearly eve-rything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (NIV). However, does that mean that God will not forgive us when we offend him? Of course not! 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unright-eousness” (NIV). So, God does forgive us for disobeying him. In other words, while God becomes angry with us for the sin we commit, he also is willing to forgive us.

Prayer of Release

“Lord, I now know that while the wrong things I do make you angry, you are also willing to forgive me. Forgive me for think-ing that you are not willing to forgive the sins I have done. Help me to experience your forgiveness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Reimage

How can God be both angry with sin and yet forgiving at the same time? Let’s look at Colossians 2:13-14: “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (NLT). Here we see that Jesus Christ, in dying on the cross, was able to take away the “charges” being made against us. It is in his death that God’s wrath - his anger - was satisfied, and our of-fenses against him were paid for. The amazing thing is that God, in his love for us, chose to send his only Son in order that his Son would suffer under his wrath instead of us. It was through Jesus’ blood being shed that we can be forgiven. Ephesians 1:4-7 says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (NLT).

Repaint

Take a look at this verse from the song “In Christ Alone.” Do you see how both the love of God and the wrath of God are shown? Spend a few minutes thinking about these words: “In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev'ry sin on Him was laid— Here in the death of Christ I live.”

Have you ever experienced something like this? Have you ever asked God to make himself known to you, but nothing comes? What are your feelings when you believe that God is distant?

frustration?

fear?

anxiety?

despressed?

Write down what you feel like in the space below. (give space to journal) “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:1-2, NIV) The psalmist’s soul was yearning, pleading to be in the pres-ence of God. Does it ever feel like your whole being is crying for relief? We can all experience this relief… Emmanuel. God is with us.

Prayer of Release

“Lord, please show me who you are. Show me you. I want to know you and feel that you’re with me. You and I both know that I’m in desperate need of you. I want to see you move in my life. Reveal your presence in my life so that I can give glory and honor to you. Amen.”

The Distant God Release

I am a teenager, wandering through life like I’m alone. I be-lieve that God is real. I believe that he made everything, even me. But it doesn’t seem like he’s here. It’s as if he saved me and was a huge part of my life for a long time… but now he’s not. I have prayed so many times, asking him - begging him to be with me. “God, where are you? Why can’t I feel you?” ….. Silence. “Why are you doing this to me?! It’s as if you don’t exist any-more.” ….. Nothing. “God, please. I’m begging you to be here right now. Please show yourself to me.” ….. I don’t know about you, but this really hits home for me… be-cause that teenager was me. This is one of the things that I have struggled with the most in my walk with Christ. Everyone says that God is omnipresent - or present everywhere - but I have gone through life wonder-ing if God is really there.

Now, take a moment to write down your thoughts here:

Draw a picture that shows how your idea of God’s anger and love fit together.

Describe what you drew and explain what it means to you:

Reflections:

Think for a few minutes about what you have been learning and then answer the following questions: 1. How might you view God’s wrath, or anger, differently? 2. How does that relate to God’s love for us? 3. What does it mean to you knowing that God’s anger was satisfied through Jesus’ death? 4. How might that change the way you see God?