My mother is not green

Imagine three people talking about their mother. A stranger wants them to describe her, so they each offer a description.

Person Number One says:

“My mum is green. She has antennae sticking out of her head, and her hair is yellow. She’s as big as a sumo wrestler and has muscles that Mr Universe would be proud of.”

Person Number Two says:

“She’s got very pale white skin and blonde hair. She’s very petite and short.”

Person Number Three says:

“She’s got dark skin and black hair. She’s tall and beautiful.”

Could all three of these people be correct in their descriptions of one person when their descriptions are so contradictory? Of course not. If she is a real human being, she can’t be both a giant green person with antennae and a petite blonde with pale skin at the same time.

You can believe whatever you want about who she is and what she looks like, but she will always be who she is regardless of what you believe about her or how you describe her.

Of course, you probably know that already. You wouldn’t describe your wife as green or purple unless she is (probably), and you would likely be hurt if you heard people describing you as somebody completely different than you really are, especially if they describe you in a way that you would consider to be insulting.

Yet so many of us treat the subject of God in the way the three people above talked about their mother. They say that whatever you believe about God is fine, as long as you’re sincere.

This belief defies logic, though. If we believe God is a myth, then of course we can paint Him however we want. But if God is REAL, as I sincerely believe He is, we need to realize that not everything that is believed about God can be true.

Some believe that Christ-followers are arrogant to suggest that there is only one God, but I don’t believe it is any more arrogant than it would be for me to suggest that I only have one mother. She is who she is, and what others believe about her doesn’t change reality.

I am on a quest to know the God Who Is, not just a god whom I wish existed. If I wanted to create my own religion, I could create any kind of “god” I wanted, but that god wouldn’t be REAL. I want to be careful, as much as possible, not to misrepresent God. That’s why I try to seek Him in the ways He’s revealed Himself and not to create God in my own image.

The problem with many religious people, Christians and non-Christians alike, is that they tend to create their “god” in their own image. If they are of a particular political persuasion, they assume that God is too. If they believe particular things about morality, life, culture, or whatever, they assume that God does too.

But God is Who He Is, not who we make Him.

I think we all have the tendency to project our own ideas or perceptions upon God, so this is something we all have to try to fight if we are going to begin to discover the God Who Is REAL.

Yet I will always continue my quest, not to describe God as I think God should be, but to discover more and more of Who God really Is.

How can I know the God Who Really Is?

God is infinite. That means He has no limits and no boundaries. God is bigger than me. How can I ever truly understand a mind that is infinitely bigger than mine? The fact is that I can’t. The best I can hope to do is to get the tip of the iceberg, to learn to know SOMETHING of Who this God is.

That isn’t cause for despair, however. Why? Because I believe I can know SOMETHING of God. In fact, not only can I know something ABOUT God, I can even KNOW God personally.

How, you may ask?

Well first of all…

1. I can know God through the things He has made.

   Romans 1:20 says:

   For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

   I sincerely believe that any great masterpiece must have the hand of a master behind it. The Mona Lisa didn’t come into existence by accident, and neither did this beautiful and vast universe we live in. We can argue all we want as to HOW God created it, but I believe that no effect can exist without an ultimate Cause. And I believe God is that Cause.

   Furthermore, I believe all that is good and beautiful in this universe points to the Creator. Yes, I know there are a lot of things in this universe that have been messed up by humankind but, before we messed it up, it was all beautiful. I also believe God has a plan in place to make it all beautiful again one day.

   When I look at the masterpiece of a sunset, a snow-capped mountain, or a star-filled night, I believe it points to the Hand of the Creator. However, that alone only points to the idea that there IS a source and that this Source must be beautiful if He can create such beauty.

   How do I know anything more of Who this Source is?

2. I can know God through the Words He’s given us.

   The Bible says:

   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

   These words from the Bible are claiming that all the Bible comes from God in some way. This may seem like a ludicrous claim, but I sincerely believe it’s true. I believe that this book, which is really a library of 66 ancient books, has been somehow preserved through the centuries in better condition than any other books from the ancient world for a reason. People have tried to disprove it time and again, and yet it still remains the best selling book in the world. Instead of contradicting science, as some have unfortunately tried to claim, it is supported time and again by the discoveries of science and archeology. It is also supported by the reality of the millions of lives its words have changed.

   It tells us about One God, and I truly believe that the God it reveals is the One True God. Its words are often debated and misinterpreted, but I am dedicated to the study of these ancient texts because I believe that the God who inspired it is the God Who is Real, and I’m convinced that the God Who is revealed in its pages is the One Who has the power to rescue lives and restore all of Creation to its intended glory.

3. I can know God through His Son.

   Jesus said, in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In other words, he says that if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen God.

   Of course, none of us have SEEN Jesus either, but we learn about Him in the Bible. We learn about His plan to rescue us from all the junk in our lives and to give us a life that never ends. We learn about His radical love for every one of us, and if His words are true, we learn that He is God’s way of revealing Himself to the world. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we learn about Who God Really Is. Not some preacher’s idea of God, not the ramblings of some crazy son who talks about his mom being a green sumo-wrestler — but WHO HE IS IN REALITY.

   He also says that we can do more than know ABOUT Him. He teaches us that there is a way that we can know Him personally.

Of course, you don’t have to believe any of what I’m saying. What I suggest, though, is that you investigate the facts for yourself before you come to a conclusion. Don’t just listen to what somebody says ABOUT God, or what you think God is or should be like.

If God is real, then He will be real regardless of what you think about Him; just like my mom is real no matter what you choose to think about her.

But if you don’t investigate the facts for yourself and find out if what I’m saying is true, I fear that you will miss out on the most wonderful experience you could EVER have… the experience of KNOWING the God Who is real.

Won’t you check out the evidence? You might be surprised what you find!