Better Than We Think?

A friend of mine once said something I’ve been thinking about ever since: “Everyone, whether they admit it or not, believes in God. It’s just that many just don’t trust Him.” Deep down, they just don’t think He’s truly good or that He could really be for them.

I think my friend could be right. I suppose it all comes down to what we actually think about when we think about God. If you read the stories about Jesus in the Bible, you’ll see Him constantly trying to get people to re-think (literally what “repent” means) what they think they know about God and how He works.

Rethinking is hard. Shoot, thinking is hard. But getting people to reconsider stuff? Almost impossible. Maybe that’s why Jesus kept saying to crowds, “If just one of you would repent, all of heaven would throw a massive party” (see Luke 15:7).

We don’t usually like being told we need to rethink, but there’s Jesus, telling us to do it. He’s telling us we need to update our imaginations about God. (Notice all the times He says stuff like, “You’ve heard it said . . .” and then “but I tell you. . .”)

We have an idea what God is like, and we’re not going to let anyone or anything, including God Himself, get in the way of it.

But think about it: What if He’s better? What if He has a particular personality, and it’s a great one? Honestly: Would I want to get to know Him more, or just stick with my presumptions? What if having the right ideas about who God really is would give us a sense of well-being that can go with us anywhere, and through absolutely anything?

I want to keep learning. I know I need to. I hope you see how good God really is, and that you’re in a much better place when you realize you can fully trust Him. To learn, we must be humble about what we know, and what we don’t.

Pray

Lord, please show me where I might need to rethink my ideas about who You are and what You are able to do in and through my life as I surrender more fully to Your lordship.