who God is.

often times, i need to be reminded of who God is.
we think of God in terms of what he does for us:  forgiver, redeemer, friend.  but God is not defined by how he relates to me.  he is God with or without me.  with or without my Christianity, God is God, and sometimes i get so wrapped up in how i'm feeling in relation to God that i base my recognition of his existence and character on how i experience him.

i was reminded this morning that God doesn't just give us a sense of fulfillment, of purpose.  if that were the case, he would really only be a wealthy benefactor.  he does not come in without changing you.

in john 6, people flocked to Jesus because of what he was doing.  catch that.. because of what he was doing.  so Jesus stopped and withdrew.  why?  because Jesus is the giver of life, the supreme Lord of creation, not just someone who meets our physical needs and makes us feel better.  if we see him as only meeting our needs, we will be hungry forever.

i think this is how i've seen God for a while now.  i saw him as the one who gives me confidence about future decisions.  the one who will work everything out by mid-december.  the one who... DOES things for me.  man oh man, am i off-base.

let's worship God for WHO he is.  not just for what he DOES for me.

God is so much bigger than our experience of him.