Our Images of God Matter

I have recently been thinking about my image of God. As a child, I perceived God as magical, distant, up there looking down on me. I remember seeing pictures of God as a king on a throne ruling over all of us. My prayers, as a child, reflected different images. I prayed to a genie God who I felt could and should grant me my wishes. I cried out to God the policeman to intervene and make things better when it was hard. Santa Claus God was expected to respond to everything on my list.

The biblical scholar and preacher, Walter Brueggeman, said that our images of God matter. Fr. Greg Boyle believes that we often make God in our own image. So, depending on my childhood experiences, my relationships with my parents and other significant adults, I might see God as loving and gentle or judgmental and demanding perfection. If I felt I was never good enough or strong enough by my father’s standards or if I was told that I was worthless, then my image of God would reflect that. And the opposite is true; if I felt cherished as a child, it would be easier to see a God who cherished me.

We sometimes have to unlearn what we have learned and spend time getting to know who God is. And we need to realize that our perception of God might be off-base. In these last days of Lent, take some time thinking about your image of God. It might help us to trust the love and mercy that God always and everywhere offers to all people.