Little boxes - 8 January 2009

“Aslan is not a tame lion…”  C.S. Lewis

Personally I love to find order, pattern and connections (not surprising then that I studied philosophy!).  There’s something satisfying in finding a system that unifies our outlook on the world…and puts it in a box…with a lid?

There are so many abominations – sorry, make that denominations – who believe they have found the essence of God’s truth and that somehow they have the exclusive copyright on that truth. 

Woops! Big mistake!

While it is vital to be seekers after truth, it is also vital that our thinking and theology remain alive and responsive to the Holy Spirit, not codified and stiff.

There are times when God chooses to disturb the neat patterns of our thinking and understanding of Him and maybe even contradict what we have held for years.

We are prone to create an image of God that is at best a caricature.  We have a vision of a “nice” God, a “tame” God, soft, lenient and avuncular, somewhat sickly-sweet - like candyfloss.

I suppose we really need to get back to the source, back to what the Bible says about the passionate nature of God:

Ps 45:7   God passionately hates wickedness and its source, the devil.

Ex 15:7   God’s anger burned against the Egyptian army (Satan).

Zec 8:2   God says “I am burning with jealousy for Zion (the church).”

Hatred, anger, jealousy; all viewed as wrong, as negative.

Yet surely they are a vital aspect of the passionate love of our Father in heaven.  Surely we need to re-read the gospels and re-discover a passionate and emotional Jesus.