What Is Your Picture Of God?

Do you have a picture of God mulling around in your mind?  I did for years and it wasn't a good picture either.  Our pictures of God usually come from childhood experiences.  Mine came from a cruel step father.  What are your pictures of God like?  I saw a mean looking face, scowling at me all the time waiting to grab me and punish me for something I had done, and yet as a child, I wanted to serve Him and be on the good side of Him and not displease Him at all.

Some years back, I saw this face again and I had done a lot of Bible study and it didn't correspond with the face I was seeing in my mind.  All of a sudden the thought came to me, 'that is not the right picture of God at all', and I asked God to give me a real picture of Him.

This is the picture that I have now, a gentle, patient, compassionate, loving, forgiving, a sweet forgiving face, one that would draw you to Him, not frighten you away.  Arms outstretched to receive you, waiting for you to come to Him.  Not waiting to punish you if you slip up.  What a difference that picture makes in my life.
No need to fear Him, just rest in His arms of love.  He will save me if I am willing to be saved and to walk beside Him.

What is your picture of God?  If it is anything like mine was, let Him show you a new picture of love, just waiting for you to come to Him and be saved.  The ugly picture that I had of God was one that Satan has conjured up in the minds of millions and millions of people to make them think that He is just waiting for them to slip up so He can cast them into hell fire and that they will burn there forever and ever.  Would you treat your child like that?  Of course not and do we think that God would treat us worse than we would treat our children?  What a horrible thought!!!  God's love is so much greater than our love that we cannot really comprehend it.  We don't understand such great love.  But if you let Him pour out His love in your heart you will catch a glimpse of His love and you will never be the same again.  He is a loving, kind, gentle, tender, compassionate, forgiving friend, unwilling that any should perish.

John 3:16,17  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Does that sound like He is waiting to punish us if we slip up?  No, He gave the best gift He had to save us, if that isn't love, then I guess I don't know what love is.  He didn't send Jesus here to condemn us but to save us.  What a beautiful picture of God we can have now, no need to believe Satan's picture anymore.  John 3:16,17 paints a very different picture of God, doesn't it?  Let's let the real picture sink into our hearts and minds and serve Him in return with love for Him that outweighs any other in our life.  He can be and wants to be our 'first love'.  Will you let Him?  I pray that you do and that I do too.  Grandma Joan