seeing God differently

On day two in A Year with C.S. Lewis, we read about limpets. Those are limpets in the pic above. Lewis tells us a little story (as he corresponds with his life long friend) about a very wise limpet who tries to tell his limpet friends what humans are like. The poor limpet is smart, but there are only so many things that it can say about us, because most of what it says is in the negative. We DON'T have shells, like they do. We DON'T cling tightly to rocks. And so forth.

We find ourselves in a similar position with God. Because only those who have experienced Him can talk about what He's like. Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith it's impossible to please God, because to even pray or tell people about God, we have to believe that He's there. And we all experience Him just a little differently. Not because He's different, but because we are. We are all describing the same Person, but the way He interacts with my personality is going to be just a little different than the way He interacts with yours. If you have kids, you know how this works. You're the same parent, but you respond to your kids just a little different, depending on their needs and personalities and questions.

So when I see God as the great Lover, but my friend sees Him as the one with Perfect Justice who will Judge the world, we have to be patient with each other. We're both right... and we both miss out on elements too. Because while we do KNOW God, while we do experience Him, there is so much MORE to God than we can ever fathom... and none of us have a corner on Him.

We do know what He's not like. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us alot about that. And we do know that He is good, and we can trust Him. But let's remember to be patient and kind with our fellow believers, because they might be seeing a side of Him that we haven't yet.

And let's especially be patient with those poor souls who hear us talking about Someone they've never experienced.

God, thank You for revealing Yourself to us according to our needs... and help us to know You better every day.