Reflection 5: We become like the God we worship
The way we perceive and relate to God profoundly shapes who we are. If our image of God is distorted, marked by fear, harsh judgment, or conditional love, our spiritual life and relationships will reflect these qualities. Conversely, a healed, life-giving image of God leads to transformation, inner freedom, and love. As Jesus said, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36), implying that our concept of God determines how we live. Thus, healing our image of God is not just theological housekeeping; it is spiritual survival.
The Power of Our Image of God
Throughout history, theologians, mystics, and spiritual teachers have affirmed that we are shaped by the God we believe in. St. Gregory of Nyssa expressed that "the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts."
If we envision God primarily as an authoritarian judge, we will unconsciously cultivate legalism, fear, and self-condemnation.
If we see God as indifferent or distant, we may struggle with apathy and disconnection in our spiritual life.
If we perceive God as radically loving and compassionate, we will begin to embody those very qualities.
This principle extends beyond personal spirituality to entire religious cultures. A wrathful God fosters violent fundamentalism. A transactional God fosters religious consumerism. But a God of unconditional love nurtures a community of grace, forgiveness, and healing.
Today, we are reading another excerpt from Good Goats: Healing Our Image of God by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn.
The question to reflect on today is:
If we become like the God we adore, what kind of God do you long to name and embrace in your life?
Extract from the book “Good Goats: Healing Our Image of God” written by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn
Why Wasn't I Healed?
For many years the three of us have prayed for healing of life's crippling hurts. We have experienced profound healing in our own lives and in the lives of others. But I (Dennis) finally came up against a problem in my life where healing prayer didn't work. Why not?
I am half German. Although I don't want to stereotype all Germans, like many of my ancestors I was born a self-righteous German. Like self-righteous "Good Old Uncle George," who threw into the blazing fire anyone who did not act in a way he approved, I, too, saw all the mistakes and errors in everyone but myself.
For years I tried every kind of healing prayer in order to be rid of my self-righteousness. Although these prayers healed me of many things, my self-righteousness did not change. I often wondered why, when I prayed so hard, God did not heal me. Then one day, I noticed that my self-righteousness had nearly disappeared. Why, I asked, after so many years of struggle, was there suddenly and almost automatically such a wonderful change in my life?
We Become Like the God We Adore
I changed when my image of God changed. Most of us recognize that we become like our parents whom from early on we adore, even with all their faults. We may not realize that we also become like the God we adore. Unfortunately, the God I grew up adoring was German. My God was a self-righteous German who sat on his (at the time my God was all male) judgment throne.
Being a self-righteous German, my God could see all the mistakes and errors in everyone else. If my self-righteous God did not like what he saw in others, he could even separate himself from them by sending them into hell. And if my God could be a self-righteous German, then no matter how many healing prayers I prayed, I would probably never change. I became like the God I adored.
In every aspect of our lives, we become like the God we adore. For example, in a time when we have the capacity to annihilate one another with nuclear weapons, many churches have issued pastoral letters on peace. Our church's pastoral letter says that we can never use nuclear weapons against our enemies. However, if my God can send God's enemies to a hell inferno, then I can send a nuclear inferno on my enemies. But if my God doesn't treat people that way, I can't either. We find that a key to personal and social healing is healing our image of God.
A renewed vision of God must be lived out in practice. If we believe in a forgiving God, we must forgive. If we believe in a compassionate God, we must extend compassion. This is where theology becomes flesh, where our concept of God shapes the kind of people we become in the world.
"We are becoming the God we worship" is not just a saying; it is a spiritual law.
If we want to become whole, loving, and free, we must set aside fear-based images of God and embrace the true and living God. Only then can we fully reflect the divine image within us and offer healing to a world longing for love.
My prayer for each of us on this Lent journey, is that our deepening vision of God transforms not only our hearts but the way we walk in the world, so that through us, others may glimpse the beauty of the Divine.
