What we think about God is of vital importance in determining our relationship with Him. Because our response to God is based on our thoughts and feelings about Him, it is critical that we know what He is really like. A true relationship with God is based on a Biblically accurate understanding of His attributes (or personal characteristics).
Unfortunately, our impression of God usually has been colored by hundreds and thousands of inaccurate images of what He is like. Imagine having heard about someone you had never met from several different sources over a long period of time. (Some of the reports may have even been slanderous and misleading.) Most are limited to minor events related to this person. Others are varying accounts of his personality and behavior.
When you finally meet this person, the beginning of your relationship is colored by assumptions and expectations based on these secondhand reports. If you want to know what this person is truly like, you will have to make a point of trying to understand him. This might involve discarding some of the false impressions that you have already formed. It will certainly take time and many shared experiences for the picture of this person to come into clear focus.
In a similar way it is possible that we can misunderstand God’s attributes and have conflicting views of what He is really like. We can have an intellectual view based on what we know about Him. We can also have a very different, emotional view based on what we feel about Him. Just as accurate vision requires two correct lenses, so a true relationship with God must be based on proper thoughts and feelings about Him.
Unfortunately, our feelings often mislead our thoughts, resulting in wrong ideas or false mental images of God. Correcting these false images can be difficult, but there are steps we can take to gain a clear view of who God is.
You can read the rest of this Pocket Principle by downloading the pdf.‘The Attributes of God.’
Pocket Principles® are currently offered along with Guided Discussions. The content of the Pocket Principles® will reinforce truth learned in the group discussion. Each workbook is formatted for use in a small group, where pocket principles may read prior to each discussion. Also, if a group member misses a meeting, he can read the corresponding Pocket PrincipleTM to review the information missed.
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