so, the images used to express god have been too numerous to count throughout the centuries. some of them are beautiful and some are disturbing, each one of them served a purpose. some were designed to bring people into submission (frequently to human institutions) while others were used to set people free from fear and let them know something more intimate about the creator of the universe (another one of god's monikers). even the term 'god' is not a name as much as a title or position.
however, as we explored the ideas we have of god in our bible study the other night an interesting point came up.
we were talking about whether or not a christian can attend a bush party (this was our youth study) and many people talked about not being interested in drinking and others stated that they thought it was important to go as a dd (designated driver) in order to make sure that people would get home okay.
then we started talking about whether or not driving people home gave implicit approval of destructive actions. most agreed that is was important to keep people safe and let them know that you are there for them even if what they are doing is not in line with your own stance.
thus was born the idea that god needs to be viewed more as a 'dd' than as a punisher from the sky.
it is not that this image is all-inclusive but it does communicate an idea that i think a lot of people need to embrace. the truly amazing thing about god is that, it appears, that god comes with us into all manners of inappropriate situations. god is there but that is not the same thing as saying that god approves. it appears that god really does love us and spend energy and time seeing to it that we are taken care of and safe as opposed to simply waiting to 'zap' us every time we step out of line.
what can we learn about god as we see him as caring and concerned for our well-being? after all, if jesus is god in the flesh then we must admit he spent a lot of time in unsavoury places and even referred to the 'sick needing a doctor' i think the clue to the answer lies in the fact that when jesus went to a bush party in his day he went to heal and celebrate and, above all other compulsions, was his desire to see people saved. if that is where we are at then i think there is no place on earth we can't go, in fact, there is no place on earth we shouldn't go!!
