What is God REALLY Like?

I used to see God as a heavenly Santa Claus; the sees-all, knows-all rewarder of “nice” people. Then I grew to see Him as a king; a benevolent dictator…unless you disobeyed, at which point he was malevolent and cruel. Then I grew to see him as a stern judge to be feared; angrily holding my fate in his hands.

In all these scenarios he was to be feared, his approval resting on the sincerity and abundance of good deeds I performed. Mostly I saw God as unforgiving. Jesus yes, but God, no. The righteous, holy judge who exacts justice… and all who stand before him are guilty.

Fear, guilt and insecurity ruled my heart and mind. Ever-hopeful that the good would get noticed, and the bad thoughts and actions would get overlooked somehow. A friend compared his spiritual journey to the children’s board game, “Chutes and Ladders”. Climbing the ladder upward through effort and “goodness”, only to sin and hit the slide downward into doubt and fear.

When we ask, “Who is God?” we get a thousand images, adjectives and emotions swirling about—many of them contradicting each other. Even if we refine the question to “What is God like?” we begin to think of actions attributed to Him: creating, delivering, providing, etc., as though we are reading off his resume. These lists tell of his accomplishments, but not his character.

God has a personality. My Chutes and Ladder friend also noted that “We can only answer the question “What is God like?” out of relationship, not education.” It is a difficult question to answer when one has no personal experience with God from which to draw. The way we view God – and the way that makes us feel – tends to be the way we portray God to others: vindictive and vengeful, or redemptive and relational.

Enter Jesus. What did Jesus teach us about what God is like? Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” The Father (God) is like Jesus. Thinking about Jesus stirs up a whole different list of images, adjectives and emotions: Friend, love, forgiveness, compassion, acceptance, respecter of choice, etc.

The idea of falling into the hands of God stirs up feelings of fear. The idea of falling into the hands of Jesus brings feelings of comfort and peace. If the Old Covenant were sufficient we wouldn’t need a new one.

Jesus, with one exception, always referred to God as “Father”. Only one time, while hanging on the cross, did Jesus address him as “God.” “God” is a distant, authoritative figure while “Father” is a term of relationship, closeness and intimacy.

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus cried out, “Abba, Father!” Abba would be like the English “Daddy” or “Papa”. Father is a term or respect. Daddy is a term of endearment. God is often misunderstood and misrepresented. Jesus came to clarify things and show us what God is really like. When you mess up, do you see yourself standing before an angry judge or an accepting, although disappointed, Daddy?

In fact is God ever disappointed in us? God is certainly disappointed in some of our decisions, but not in us. Like King David, we will always bear the consequences of our choices and sin, but even at his lowest David was never rejected by God.

When I sin, when I "miss the mark”, it's usually "down the chute of shame" for me. I'm learning that even in my failure God does not reject me. Even in my failure I can rise up the ladder of acceptance and find forgiveness and corrective counsel in the lap of God.

Secondly, by living under the judgment of God I tend to make others live under mine. I’m learning to extend grace the way I’ve received it from God.