Deeper Dive
God the Revealer
“If you go back and read mankind’s first exchanges with God, you will find Him giving them the knowledge they needed to fulfill their roles and then you will find them setting apart from Him to know good and evil without His understanding or wisdom. Doesn’t end well.
The Bible is a continuing account of God progressively giving suitable knowledge to those who are willing to receive it from Him on His time and terms and then use that knowledge appropriately. One of my personal problems is wanting to know what I don’t have any need to know and wouldn’t have an appropriate use for the knowledge I might acquire. God reveals what we must know about Him when we need to know and are willing to use for His desires.
Most of us could not draw ourselves accurately from memory even if we have the artist’s talents. As often as we see ourselves, our view of self is distorted through our feeling-tweaked perceptions. Are you aware that your face is probably not symmetrical, that your ears are likely not identical or even level? As likely as that is, it really doesn’t matter. We are not defined primarily by perfect symmetry!
As mentioned in several pages, God begins revealing Himself to us in the very first verses of the Bible and then continues on all the way to the last book which interestingly and appropriately begins, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to his servants…”1
In every book of the Bible, God draws word pictures of Himself so that we can begin to understand who He is and what He is like and His desires for our well-being and His relationship with us. He gives is dozens of “titles” by which He is known or described. He gives us ‘types’ in the nature of people who demonstrate His character. He even gives us the Ten Commandments that are more about His values than “nots” of denial for us.2
The prophets came pointing to God’s desires, His will for His people who had agreed to be in relation with Him. Then in the teachings of Jesus we have dozens of parables and sayings about the ‘kingdom of God’ which is all about the way that Life should be lived to be in agreement with God’s image.
Yes, we do have many chapters dedicated to the conflict between God’s desires and those who are intent to go their own way. God is honest and forthright about giving those who do not want to be in agreement with Him the consequences of an eternity without His mercy and grace. He is openly committed to the freedom to not agree with Him and the full, forever responsibility for the consequences of that choice.
FOOTNOTES:
1 Revelation 1:1 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/rev/1/1/t_conc_1168001
2 Read “thou shall” and then “no other gods” or “you shall” “not vainly identify god” — the priority on God not you