Do you remember the parable about the talents in Matthew 25:14-30? The first two servants put their money to work and each doubled it. When the master returned, they got to share his joy. The third servant – the one who received only one talent – “knew” his master was a hard man (verse 24). Instead of investing, the man was afraid so he hid his talent. In the end he got what he expected. His negative perception of the master influenced his actions, which ended up “proving” his master was a hard man.

This verse in Psalm 18 reveals something of God’s wisdom:

To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,

to the blameless You show Yourself blameless,

to the pure You show Yourself pure,

but to the devious You show Yourself shrewd.

Psalm 18:25-26

Our perceptions of God God affect how we relate to Him, which affects our lives and even our eternal destinies. Think about it:

• We’re not inclined to want a close relationship with a god who casually aims lightning bolts at us for the smallest of misdeeds.
• We’re not going to confess our sins or tap into the unmerited grace of God if we are trying to earn brownie points, as if God is some kind of cosmic Santa.
• If we’re perceiving God like a vending machine, we can insert all the prayers and church attendance we like, but what do we do when God doesn’t deliver as expected?
• We’re unlikely to pray with faith if we believe God is some far-off deity with little interest in our personal affairs.

A tired old man?

I used to think of God as an old man with white hair seated on a bench. Not that there is anything wrong with old men or white hair or sitting on benches. The problem with my perception is that it made God too passive, too aged, too uninvolved.

Perhaps my perception was influenced by the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:14, “His head and hair were white like wool” – but that’s only half the verse (let alone what the rest of Scripture reveals). It goes on to say, “his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.” Not exactly an old man on a bench.

But my inaccurate perception of God was affecting how I lived and what I expected of God. I didn’t know or desire God’s passion. My prayers aligned with what I thought a tired old man could offer, not what the Almighty God could do. I repented for my wrong beliefs and began a journey of hunting the Scriptures for descriptions of God’s passion.

Most often, our faulty perceptions of God are based on truth, but they are only a partial picture of God. Jesus is the roaring Lion of Judah as well as the submissive Lamb. Too often we only see one side of the paradox. Even if our perception of God is accurate, we can easily construct too small a frame around it. (Any frame would be too small.)

From where do we get these flawed perceptions of God?

• Ignorance. If we do not get to know God through reading the Bible regularly, we will inevitably pick up bits and pieces of misinformation from the culture(s) around us.
• Incorrect teaching. This includes teachings from other religions and false teaching within Christianity. It is important for spiritual teachers to be accountable for their words, and for their listeners to test the teacher’s words against the Scriptures.
• Projections. We project our experiences of earthly figures onto God – notably our fathers but also our mothers and other authority figures. If our earthly father was absent or condescending or uninterested in us, we think God is like that too.

Note: God has specifically chosen to reveal Himself as Father. Perhaps this is why fatherhood is under great attack from the enemy. God’s intention for fatherhood is that those under a father’s care receive security, identity, protection, provision, affirmation, love, and belonging. The abuse of fatherhood ends in brokenness, fragmentation, and devastation.

So what is God like without the misperceptions, the faulty lenses?

Ah, now we are getting to the good stuff. This is the heart of Christianity and what it means to have eternal life: to know God (John 17:3). Because God is infinite, we will always have more of Him to discover. I recently heard someone say God is not unknowable, but ever-knowable.

If our perceptions of God do not align with what the Bible reveals about Him, we must challenge our perceptions. The Bible reveals the following about God (for starters):

• God is Love (1 John 4:8). At the very “core” of the Trinity is relationship: mutual, self-giving, pure, generous Love.
• The best – no, the exact – representation we have of God the Father is Jesus, His Son. We know God through Jesus, whose life and ministry is recorded in the gospels. Jesus healed people, had authority over creation, reinstated dignity upon social outcasts, died for you and me, and was raised to life. There is much to learn about God by studying the life of Jesus.
• God is the epitome of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). God is good, as in the quality of goodness. God is kind and gentle. God is self-controlled – He does not lose His temper or blow a fuse. Having said that, God’s love includes a protective anger at anything which damages people (i.e. sin). God is joy-filled, peace-full, and patient. He is and will always be unwaveringly faithful.
• God revealed Himself to Moses as “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished…” (Exodus 34:6-7).
• Creation also reveals its Maker, often through multiple complementary images and paradoxes: Lion, Lamb Light, Bread, Living Water, Father, Master, Friend, Bridegroom.

Knowing God together

When it comes to knowing God, we are much better off seeking Him within community. As members of the body of Christ within our local churches, we can correct each other’s distorted perspectives. We align ourselves within orthodoxy that has echoed through the ages. We come together within the universal church, not simply one branch of the church with its distinctive emphasis.

Above all, our goal is this: to know God. I don’t want to be like the third servant who thought he knew God and lived according to his faulty perception. I want to know God for who He is and live so that I may share in His joy.

As you journey to know God more, may you

• Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal and correct any faulty perceptions of God you hold.
• Study the Scriptures for character traits of God with which you are less familiar or comfortable.
• Be open to how God may teach you – through Scripture or a sermon or a friend, etc.
• Be amazed at our God who delights to be known by us!