I
feel that the question is coming up in my mind recently, am I going to
keep on seeing Him as Scary Judge as I'd been taught or am I really
going to see Him as Loving Father!?! Without realizing it, in the past I'd seen Him as a Scary Judge, whose bottom line was grading me on my performance, and thus I never could feel totally safe and secure around Him, because I wondered if He really approved of me, wondered if He was going to be disappointed with me or reject me because of some failure on my part to act, think or believe right...Yet now I am learning more and more that He is really a Loving Father! He is not all about performance but is all about relationship! His way is not law but grace! His language isn't demands, pressure, rewards and punishment; it is actually acceptance, delight, freedom and gifts! He is a loving Daddy who loves to dote on His kids, in whose eyes they can do no wrong, who would never think of disowning them, who wouldn't want to even exist in a universe where they did not exist, who would gladly give up His own life to save them from harm, who would protect them from anything, who always thinks they deserve the very best, who thinks they are the greatest and most wonderful beings ever! He always sees past the wrongs they do to the hurts that may have caused them to act that way, always sees not the wrongs they might do but the needy, vulnerable little son/daughter dependent on Him for everything, needing so much to be loved. He will never turn His back on us, never stop loving us, never reject us based on some poor performance or mistake, never see us as anything but His dearly loved, precious children!
So I feel myself coming to a point where I am asking myself, am I ready to just let go of the old ideas and go forth bravely with the new? Do so can feel a little scary, because one is dropping old traditional beliefs that have been there for so long. And yet, a wonderful new vista opens up before me, full of a God who is truly LOVE, who is ALL LOVE, who is nothing BUT LOVE! A God who has no wrath! A God who does not judge! A God who isn't punishing but instead restoring! A God who is safe to be with, not scary! A Father, not a Judge!
It's freeing to let go of the old
ideas about Him, thrilling and also vulnerable and new, like stepping
into the unknown but feeling deep down that it's going to be a great
ride! I feel Him saying that whatever He shows me
about Himself, whatever new things He reveals, that all of it will only
be better and more wonderful than what I believed before!
YES!! It's time to follow my heart and see Him as my loving, doting Papa who
would never harm me, cast me out, punish me, or forget me! I am so safe
with Him! I may not understand some of the passages in the Bible
about Him, but I know what my heart tells me, and I think the Spirit in
me witnesses in agreement!
