What We Think About GodSample

WHAT THE WORLD THINKS ABOUT GOD

Two centuries ago, the Apostle Paul stood in Athens with this message:

People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an alter with this inscription: To An Unknown God. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship. (Acts 17:22-23)

In every human heart there is a deep longing that only God can fill. We seek this in other places, however—in relationships, in money, in work, in physical activity, in titles and positions. 

We have a longing to be under the care of something, nay, Someone, who can make us feel whole. We desire to place our affection and trust somewhere where moth and rust don’t destroy and which will stand the test of time. 

Many today, however, have not found that to be in the Christian God, or in any other man-made god. They seek and they haven’t found, perhaps because they don’t know what they are seeking. 

Who do we believe God is, and what do we believe he is like? becomes a critical crossroads for those who have misperceptions about who God really is and what he embodies.  

Ask any non-Christian what he or she perceives God to be like and you will get as many answers as there are people:

· God is critical.

· God is judgmental.

· God is irrelevant.

· God is beyond knowing.

· God is everywhere.

· God is unknowable.

· God is good for some people. 

·  I don’t know.

·  I don’t care.

The list goes on and on. 

Look deeply, however, and a thread may begin to emerge in many people who do not profess faith in the Christian God: All have a distorted image of God. 

This may be because they have had little contact with Christians, or too much with Christians acting poorly. It may be because they have been wounded by the church, or because they have never been properly pursued by a Christian similar to how God, the Great Shepherd, pursues the lost sheep. God will, at the end of every day, leave the 99 others to find the 1 and bring it home. 

Ignorance here is not bliss. In fact, a distorted view of God does untold harm to not only the person of no faith, but to those in his or her own circle. 

A marred image has been projected which paints a view of God that causes many to either shrug and walk the other way, become repulsed to the point of sheer anger, or which causes them to weep under a burden which, it seems, will never be lifted. 

But how will our world think of God properly unless they are told? And how will they be told unless people are sent? And how will we go forth if we don’t answer the call of God as Isaiah did, with a pronounced and powerful, “Here I am! Send me!” 

Scripture is clear on this one: we are the sent ones. 

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Think of the non-Christians you know. What is your understanding of how they view God?

2. Consider the role of media. How have you observed media play a role in our view of God and faith?

3. When you think about obstacles that keep people from trusting in Jesus, what comes to mind?

4. Take an honest assessment of your own witness to non-Christians. Have there been times when you have behaved in such a way that would hinder others from seeing God as the One who loves deeply and changes lives?