All week long, I could not help but ponder on the perceptions that people have of God. Many people around the world have preconceived perceptions of God; many people view God as a wicked man who cares less about the human race He created. Some people think of Him as a genie who should make all their wishes come true, while others think of Him as an alpha man or god who can only be approached once in a while. The list can continue as we have billions of people on the earth with creative minds and formations. I could not but ponder on how these perceptions influence the ways people interact with God. For example, when I was in high school; junior secondary school (middle school) I heard tales about strict teachers who taught the senior secondary school classes. These preconceived perceptions of these teachers influenced the way I approached the classes that these teachers taught. The same thing applies to my interaction with people too; even when I do not want to – there is a tendency for me to approach people in certain ways based on things I may have learned about them.
As always this blog post “ain’t” about me but about our Jesus Christ and the ways we interact with Him – my sharing is just with the hopes that you get the point I am driving at. As I continue, I would love for you to take a pause, and ask yourself this question – “How do I see God?” or rather, “What is my perception of God?”. I hope you will be honest with yourself as you ponder on and answer this question.
The Blurred perception:
You know God’s children of old had a blurred perception of God all thanks to sin. Sadly, when sin was introduced into the human race, it blurred the vision of God in mankind’s hearts, minds, and lives. This is why the bible tells us that “they that are pure in heart shall see God – Matthew 5:8“. To further elaborate on this, a man who is void of dirt from sin would have a 2020 vision of God. Think about eyes that are clogged with dirt, there is no way those eyes can see clearly. This is what sin does to a man’s spiritual eyes, it deters him or her from seeing God clearly in all of His Glory and splendor.
Fearful perception:
Furthermore, God’s children of old had a fearful perception of God. In Exodus 20, we see how they reacted to God’s presence – they told Moses to go deal with God on their behalf because they thought in their limited minds that God would kill them for nothing. This is a God who just told them,
I will lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands - Exodus 20:6
They perhaps had their minds fixated on the repercussions or consequences of sin that they failed to see the lush and lavish love God promises only if we obey and keep His commands.
The Unworthy Perception:
The interaction between Peter and Jesus, I think about the first physical interaction they ever had is one I find fascinating. Jesus Christ told Peter to cast his net to the deep after he had told all night without a catch. Thankfully, Peter obeyed Jesus Christ perhaps out of curiosity to find out what would happen, and to his surprise, he made a net-breaking catch. I would have thought or imagined that his reaction would be gratitude towards this strange man who just helped him. Even if it wasn’t gratitude, perhaps curiosity to know or learn who this man was. But the bible records that Peter fell on Jesus’ knees, and told Him to go away from him because he was a sinful man – Luke 5:8. From that interaction, I can deduce two things, Peter’s perception was that all God saw was a sinful man unworthy to be a recipient of His blessings. Do you know what Jesus’ response to him was?
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people. -Luke 5:10
Overall, God was saying to Peter, fear not! I have a purpose and plan for you, just follow me closely. Perhaps God is saying the same to you right now. Fear not! I have a plan for you, just walk closely with me. Indeed God had amazing plans for Peter! He is one of my favorite characters from the pages of scripture because I think we have the same inquisitive nature plus it is so inspiring to see how Peter grew from a man who felt unworthy of God’s love to a man who spoke with so much authority, hosted God’s power and dispensed it. All of this happened because Peter walked closely with Jesus Christ and as he did, his perception of Jesus Christ changed so much. Peter asked questions all he could, he became a man who could ask Jesus Christ so many questions. This is how we should view God, a God who has our best interest, who has all the answers to our questions, a God who listens to us and speaks to us only if we pay attention.
My encouragement to you today is to review your relationship with God and evaluate where you are at with Him and how you perceive Him. If you identify that your perception needs to shift, I encourage you to take action. Search through scripture men or women who had solid relationships with God and study their interactions with God, meditate on it, and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you to change. God is calling you deeper into intimacy with Him, this cannot happen if you continue to see Him as a wicked God.