Devotion 

Misrepresenting God

Frances Taylor 

This passage is one I try very hard to take to heart. For over forty years, I have worked to bring the gospel message to children and adults alike. That is what I'm doing as I write this. It is so important that we don't misrepresent God to others. When someone tells me they don't believe in God, I wonder whose image of God they have been taught. When I was a child, it was common to hear that God was some policeman in the sky that was going to punish me for everything I did wrong. The idea of a loving, forgiving God was not taught as the norm. Ministers and other teachers of religion often spoke more of hellfire and damnation. It's no wonder that there are those who claim that God doesn't exist. On the other hand, there are those who taught that God was like Santa Claus, keeping track of our good deeds and rewarding us accordingly, or tracking our misdeeds and punishing us accordingly. Neither of these images of God are accurate. God is loving and compassionate, forgiving us for our sins. But! There's the expectation that we will love God back; that we will repent when we sin; that we will be compassionate, forgiving people who follow in the footsteps of Jesus. That our sins bring their own punishment, and that God isn't keeping track trying to trip us up. May we be true witnesses to God's goodness and not lead others astray.

Prayer 

Lord, let me truly enable others to see your face, and not a false image of who you are. Amen.