Cheap Imitation God?

Atheism is on the rise. But, you know, that doesn’t bother me a whole lot...

According to the Bible, the inerrant word of God, true belief in the non-existence of God is itself non-existent. In short, nobody believes, in his heart of hearts, that there’s no God.

As a witty writer once quipped, “God doesn’t believe in atheists.” In the heart and mind of every man, woman and child, there is at least a haunting awareness that we are creatures: products of a transcendent Creator, made in some way like that Creator, and will be held accountable by Him.

So, no, the “new atheism” being promoted nowadays, even selling millions of best-selling books, is, to me, nothing to rob me of sleep after a grueling day on the job.

What bothers me much more, is the “god” so many so-called believers believe in.

Idolatry comes in all shapes, modes and manners. Gone, at least in our sophisticated times, are the honest, heathen, pagan idolaters who bow down to images of wood, stone and metal, like the golden calf fashioned by Aaron the priest while his brother Moses was up the hill receiving the Ten Commandments from the one true God. No, today, we are far less crass and overt with our idol-making.

And really, I’m not even much disturbed about the idolaters who worship at the shrines of pro sports stadiums, materialism gone wild, workaholism, kids and grandkids who can do no wrong, and other substitute “divine” pursuits.

What genuinely get me to the edge of madness, are the caricatures of the true God.

You know what a caricature is: the funny, cartoonish, pastel portrait an artist might draw of you while you pose for her at the mall or the fair ground. It is designed to bring a smile to those who know you and can detect the resemblance to the real thing because the artist focuses on one or two prominent features like your nose, haircut, or earlobes.

Caricatures are fun, but if an investigator is trying to find an actual person, he doesn’t ask for a caricature, but for a photo. Because, as the saying goes, “the camera doesn’t lie.” And everyone created in God’s image, being innately aware of the Creator’s existence, is called by that very awareness, to investigate...to somehow discover their Creator’s true identity and divine nature.

Thankfully, the invisible Being who created us and rules our universe--His universe, that is--hasn’t left us in the dark about who He is, what He’s like, or what He expects. As Christians, we are supremely privileged to have a whole library of sixty-six books we call the Bible. And in its pages we have God quite clearly and vividly revealed, described and explained to the human mind. We even have Him illustrated and literally “personified” in the incarnation of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! How’s that for a reliable portrait?

Investigation over--problem solved, right?

Well, the sad fact is, a whole lot of “Christians” are dissatisfied with the picture of the real God captured so photographically in the pages of scripture. To many, the portrait it paints is a little TOO vivid...a bit TOO specific...and a great deal too unsettling. They read about a God who institutes a death penalty for crimes they see as minor offenses. They cringe at accounts of holy jihadist campaigns in Canaan. They wince at Psalms that rejoice in the conquest and destruction of God’s enemies. They wink or roll their eyes at St. Paul when he writes about a wrathful God, and hem and haw when the gentle Jesus preaches about hell as if it’s a real place.

Someone posted a blurb recently on a certain social media site, quoting a purported man of God who was criticizing those who portrayed God as vengeful and angry, bemoaning the criticism he received because he portrayed Him as too loving and tolerant. I wanted to ask the probing, but reasonable, question: “But, what if He’s BOTH?” Let’s have the humility and honesty to take a good look at the WHOLE picture.

Truth is, the Bible is God’s word. Yes, inscribed by human beings, but inspired by the invisible God so as to make Himself clearly visible and understandable to honest readers of all ages.

Truth is, God reveals Himself to be loving AND wrathful. Forgiving AND vengeful. Tolerant AND demanding. Life-giving AND life-taking. A gentle Father AND a consuming Fire. “Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated.” We may have trouble reconciling what we see as negative traits with the ones we feel are positive...but God says they are ALL true.

It is faith and trust in the true God that makes a Christian persevere in his or her investigation of this surprising, puzzling, unexpected God in order to see how perfectly He expresses every one of His many attributes. His love is quite different from ours...and so is His anger. If a human mom can be simultaneously loving and angry toward her child, what makes me think that God’s emotional makeup is any less complex?

A pastor friend of mine observed, when we were discussing this subject, “People have trouble fitting God into their own little picture of reality. But which is more reasonable, to believe in a God who easily fits our picture, or to believe in one that challenges us to fit into His?”

The answer is never to reduce or cheapen our image of who God is and what He’s like. The Bible gives us a God-designed, God-ordained, God-approved portrait. And all of us would do well to take each and every page of that portrait seriously. Every phrase is a brush stroke that makes His image larger and larger, His identity clearer and clearer, His holiness higher and higher.

Don’t settle for a cheap, carnival caricature of the triune Ruler of the cosmos. Jesus taught His followers that all scripture is important because it contains “things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Let’s follow His example and fill in the true picture.

Beware of imitations.