Image of God

Our Image of God

Jesus breaks down our false pictures of God. God is not remote or far off or cold. God is near and with us in our suffering and reaches out to us in love. 

Jesus gave the perfect model to follow. His acceptance of all people, even those condemned by his synagogue, demonstrated and still demonstrates God’s eternal Love for all mankind. His acceptance of the woman at the well, even though she was an outcast, shows that we too can see one another as children of God.

He knew of her many marriages and her infidelities. He knew that she was an outcast even in her own village. Yet, He showed her love and acceptance. He also used her as a messenger to tell others of His arrival, of His mission. She told of His special relationship to God and his ability to know all about her, without her telling Him. Today, Jesus knows all about us. We have no secrets from Jesus or God. God knows when we do not pass His eternal Love to others.

God Loves us; God forgives us. We cannot picture God in His majesty, but we can have a picture of Jesus in our minds as we pray to God. I agree that Jesus came to us to open our hearts to the Love of God, but I also think that he came to us so that we could have an image of God as we pray. After all, we are mortal, and we need an image to keep us concentrating in our prayers. Unlike Jesus, we are not perfect.

Our imperfections allow us to reach further inside us to try to achieve the perfection that Jesus demonstrate. They are our opportunities to allow God to see how we try to overcome our imperfections. I believe in the power of prayer, which is why I am a prayer minister at my church. I believe that when I pray with others, God is with us. I believe that He hears us, and this fact comforts us in our times of struggle.

God is near us always and comforts us in our struggles; may you be comforted in your struggles during this time of Lent.