{"id":631,"date":"2025-07-05T10:52:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T14:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/?p=631"},"modified":"2025-07-05T10:52:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T14:52:36","slug":"arent-you-glad-god-is-not-like-you-or-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/?p=631","title":{"rendered":"Aren\u2019t You Glad God Is NOT Like You Or Me?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) <\/em>
8 <\/sup> For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 <\/sup> For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us might not admit it, but we really think God is very much like us in our thoughts, actions, and intentions! New Testament Professor Scott McKnight for years would begin his classes with a survey of the students. He would ask them what they like, dislike, believe, what their \u201cworldview\u201d would be, and so on. A couple weeks later, he would ask them the same questions, only this time they were to say what Jesus thought on these issues. 90 percent of the time, the answers were exactly the same!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are all just like that. If we were to describe God, He would have the same cultural and political beliefs and worldview, and he would be very disappointed in, and perhaps even hate, the people we do. And if we have actually read and studied the Bible and tried to apply it to our lives, we are even more<\/em> sure, and sometimes arrogantly confident, that we know for sure God\u2019s intention and view on everything. If that\u2019s how you operate, be careful\u2026 in Jesus\u2019 time, the Pharisees knew the scriptures inside and out, and were the \u201cexperts\u201d on interpretation. Yet Jesus was constantly confronting them and saying \u201cYou say this\u201d, but \u201cI tell you this\u201d. In other words, even though they knew the words of scripture, they often missed completely the intent and the heart of his Father in the words!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our God-delusion began in the Garden of Eden with the first sin. The serpent (Satan)  tempted Adam and Eve to dis-belief what God had clearly said about not eating from the tree in the middle of the garden , and told them if they did, they themselves would be just like God! \u201cFor God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil\u201d.<\/em>  (Genesis 3:5) And from that point on, we have all fallen for the same lie. We all want to be God ourselves in some way, but knowing good and evil seems to have driven us farther away from what God is actually like. I recently read someone online say \u201cwe are all God\u201d. Well, same lie, same delusion, same results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SO, WHAT IS GOD REALLY LIKE?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a fascinating section in Exodus Ch.34 where Moses and God are talking, \u201cface to face\u201d, and Moses asks God to see his \u201cglory\u201d. What that means is Moses wanted to see his presence and beauty, to see God in person for who he really is! God tells Moses he can\u2019t actually see his face and presence or he\u2019ll die, but that God will cover him up with his hand on the mountain and pass by, and then Moses can see his back. (Wouldn\u2019t that be cool to be there?) So, God passed by him and said these amazing words, describing who he really is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 <\/sup><\/em> Then the LORD (Yahweh) came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD(Yahweh). 6 <\/sup> And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD(Yahweh), the LORD(Yahweh), the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 <\/sup> maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.<\/u>” Exodus 34:5-7 (NIV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This passage is often considered the \u201cJohn 3:16\u201d of the Old Testament, and is probably the most quoted passage IN the Bible, BY the Bible! Here, God gives Moses his actual, personal name, \u201cYahweh\u201d, and describes what he is REALLY like! The entire Bible is about God and his relationship with us and the world he created, and now he tells us how he feels about us and how deeply he cares for us and how he consistently will deal with us. This also describes exactly what Jesus is like (he is God, after all), and why he came to earth to rescue and redeem us. (There is a wonderful, fascinating book dealing with this passage entitled \u201cGod has a name\u201d by John Mark Comer. It\u2019s easy to read, and very challenging. I would HIGHLY recommend it to you!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SO, HOW CLOSELY DOES THIS PASSAGE DESCRIBING GOD\u2019S CHARACTER MIRROR YOUR LIFE AND CHARACTER, AND HOW YOU TREAT OTHERS?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, if you\u2019re like me, probably not much of this passage describes how we really think and act. Now, as Christians, we KNOW we should always be compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and showing forgiveness to those who are wicked and evil and treat us badly! But in reality, we fall way short all the time! BUT, the good news is, God knows our predicament, and when we give our lives over to Jesus, he indwells us with his Holy Spirit and empowers us to change from the inside out. For the rest of our life, if we let him, God will help us put off the old self with our evil thoughts and actions, and put on the new self, a Spirit-led personality and heart that is given to us by God, as we slowly become more and more like Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still wonder if God is really much different than you?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember the story of the prophet Jonah? God told him to go to a horrible city, Nineveh, and preach against them because of their great wickedness. They were arch enemies of Israel, and made modern day terrorists look nice! One of their kings beheaded most of the people, and made a pyramid of heads at the front of the city. Then he burned the women and children alive! His son later defeated another king and skinned him alive, and then spread the skin on the city wall. Not the kind of people you want to go and warn of God\u2019s coming judgement! So, Jonah ran the other way, at least until God dragged him back to Nineveh. Jonah reluctantly preached to them \u201cForty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, miraculously, all of Nineveh repented, vowing to give up their evil ways and violence, asking for God\u2019s mercy! When God saw this he relented (changed his mind), and did not bring destruction on them. But Jonah was angry with God because he hated these people and wanted God\u2019s wrath on them! And he quoted back this verse from Exodus and basically said, \u201cI know you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love. This is why I didn\u2019t want to go in the first place!\u201d Jonah was angry at God and apparently never got over his hatred for the people of Nineveh and God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aren\u2019t we more like Jonah than God? We want God to bless people who seem good and think like us, but we want revenge, justice and punishment for people we believe are evil and nasty and think differently than us. As John Mark Comer says in his book, \u201cThat\u2019s the problem with this God Yahweh\u2014you just can\u2019t trust him to keep back blessing from people who don\u2019t deserve it. He goes around blessing all sorts of unsavory characters. People who aren\u2019t religious or spiritual or even good<\/em>. Because he\u2019s compassionate and gracious to everybody\u201d<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is, we all fall way short at times of God\u2019s character and heart toward others. And we don\u2019t even see this character weakness in ourselves! Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said \u201cIf only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds\u2026 but the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are tempted in this social-media driven, divisive, hate-filled culture to join \u201cteams\u201d and demean and demonize everybody on the other side, making us somehow feel righteous and virtuous as we devalue the soul of another human being. We too often have the heart of Jonah rather than the heart of Yahweh. And God is never pleased with that attitude and approach!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this culture, it\u2019s way too easy to join political and cultural \u201cteams\u201d and joyfully demean and make fun of others. But as followers of Jesus, we should know that is not what God wants from us. Jesus came preaching a new Kingdom, a new way of life, and our primary job as believers is to preach that Kingdom and invite people to give their life to Jesus and join that eternal Kingdom with us! All of today\u2019s politics and culture will soon pass away and be irrelevant to God, but the Kingdom is eternal. God is much more concerned with our hearts, our attitudes, our character, and the way we treat others and represent him in the process, than all the politics, news, and issues shoved at us daily. You may think you won a political argument, but if you have turned someone away from Jesus and his Kingdom by your words and attitude, you have failed miserably!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James warned us of this problem in James 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 <\/sup><\/em> With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 <\/sup> Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.<\/em>13 <\/sup><\/em> Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. – <\/em>James 3:9-10, 13 (NIV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we are wise, we will realize that God is amazing in every way, and we are not close to being like Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the more we focus on God and his amazing love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and true justice, the more we will actually draw others to him and live with God\u2019s peace and joy in our hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul reminds us in Colossians of a better way to represent God and encourage others:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colossians 3:1-2, 12-14 (ESV) <\/em>
1 <\/sup> If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 <\/sup> Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 12 <\/sup> Put on then, as God\u2019s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 <\/sup> bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 <\/sup> And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I pray that God will free you from any delusion that God is just like you, and that he has to agree with us on everything! Let God be God, and you then can worship and praise him for his amazing love and compassion, and in humility share him with others that you meet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we allow God to transform our hearts and slowly make us more like Jesus, life will be much more peaceful, purposeful, and fulfilling, and people will like us better and want to know about this Jesus who is working in our lives! Paul gives us some wise advice in Philippians 4:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philippians 4:4-8 (ESV) <\/em>
4 <\/sup> Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 <\/sup> Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 <\/sup> do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 <\/sup> And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 <\/sup> Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, God\u2019s thoughts and ways are so much bigger and better than ours, and better than anything this world has to offer! Rest in that assurance, and live and share that hope and joy with others!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) 8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Most of us might not admit it, but we really think … Continue reading Aren\u2019t You Glad God Is NOT Like You Or Me?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}