Previous | Next 

Big stick God?

Philip A. Gunther

Failure happens. Whether you are a seasoned pastor or a rookie disciple, failure will be a part of your life. As disciples of Christ, it is wise for us to understand how our image of God affects our response to such failures.

Paint a picture of God

If I asked you to paint a picture of God after you had significantly failed in some area of your life, what would appear on the canvas? A gentle, judicious grandfather? A worried parent? A stern, self-centred master? Would you hear inner whispers of assurance and encouragement or bellowing words of condemnation and punishment?

I have come to firmly believe that how a disciple of Christ copes with failure or moral downfall, and whether or not that Christian becomes a stronger and wiser person as a result, depends to a great extent on how he or she believes God will deal with him or her.

Many Christians have two distinct images of God. One image prevails when life is together, balanced and running smoothly. A dramatically different image dominates when life has “gone to the dogs.” Many believers believe God to be a God of compassion and love until they themselves experience a moral setback. Then His compassion and love seem to become distant and tiny. It is almost as if their failure has shut off the tap of God’s grace. Far too many believers hold to a picture of a “big stick God,” ready to pounce on their failures.

I remember a young woman who came to see me about baptism. She did not display much enthusiasm about this usually exciting event. During our conversation, the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask her about the picture of God she held. As her eyes fastened on the floor, she muttered, “The God I know is strict, and He doesn’t give you second chances. I want to get baptized so that I can do what He wants.” She then shared with me certain of her moral shortcomings. She was literally afraid of the God to whom she wanted to submit her life.

Sometime later, a young man, devastated over his moral failures, told me that he did not want to come to God until he had first tried to become a better person. Then God might be willing to accept him. Like the young woman, his image of God was dark. God was not really compassionate. If you approached Him seeking restoration and grace, you would be met by His “big stick.”

Christian author Hannah Whitall Smith says some people think of God as “a stern judge, a severe taskmaster or at best an unapproachable dignitary, seated on a far-off throne, dispensing exacting laws for a frightened and trembling world… But of a God who is a Father, tender and loving… who… will be on their side against the whole universe, they have no conception.”

One of the reasons why genuinely sincere Christians hold such a negative picture of God is the efforts of Satan himself. Satan desires to undermine the merciful image of God found in the Scriptures. In addition, dysfunctional relationships we have had with our parents or unhealthy experiences within the church can also instil in us a twisted image of God. The amount of grace demonstrated by others towards us colours our perception of God.

If we believe that God will pummel us for our shortcomings, our struggle with our failures will seem endless and exhausting. If, however, we believe that He seeks to restore us from our failings, not only will we be encouraged to deal with them but we will also desire to seek refuge in Him. To experience a healthy restoration from personal failure, we need to understand how we “paint” God. If our image is that of a “big stick God,” how do we go about altering that picture?

Colouring in a new image

My son Thomas often plays with a computer program where he electronically colours a picture of an animal or person. If he paints a part of an image the wrong colour, he simply clicks on the erase button, and that colour is removed. Often we as Christians paint a part of our understanding of God wrongly. We need to deliberately say to ourselves, “This is not the image of God that Jesus wants me to have.” Whenever that unforgiving image of God appears, we should erase it.

I met with the young woman who sought baptism two weeks after our initial conversation. She told me that now, whenever she fails at something and her old negative image of God as an inflexible judge comes to mind, she tells herself, “That’s not my God. My God loves me.” Her demeanour and character dramatically changed for the better. She now loves the God she serves.

As disciples of Jesus, we want to deal constructively with personal failure. Christian counsellor David Seamands notes that one of the major causes of emotional problems among evangelical Christians is their failure to understand, receive, and live out God’s unconditional grace and forgiveness. In Psalm 103:10, David reminds us that God “does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” The biblical testimony is clear that God’s judgement and punishment are always accompanied by overflowing expressions of grace, patience and restoration.

Once the unforgiving images of God are erased, we need to “colour” in a new image of God. This positive image of God can, for example, be fashioned from Jesus’ story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. We know the story. The younger of two sons demanded from his father his portion of the family inheritance – in that culture, the equivalent of wishing his father dead. After the son wasted the inheritance on wine, women and song, he returned home. While he was still a long way off, his father “saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

The son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

But the father said to his servants, “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf an kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.”

The prodigal son was a failure. He deserved the accusing finger of his father, but received instead a celebration on his return home. The father in this parable reflects the compassionate nature of God.

Brennan Manning once said, “God’s sorrow lies in our refusal to approach Him when we have sinned or failed… Abba just wants us to show up.” We are the “failed ones,” but we are also the “beloved ones.”

A nun once called Mother Teresa to tell her about a young man who was dying at a home for AIDS patients in New York. Even though he was terribly ill, he could not die. When Mother Teresa met with him, he told her that he could not die until he had asked his father to forgive him. The sister found out where the father was, and called him. Like a living page from the Gospel, the father embraced his son and cried, “My beloved son!” The son begged the father, “Forgive me! Forgive me!” Two hours later, the young man died. Christians need to have this image of God in their hearts. Theologian Karl Barth, after writing thousands of pages in his Church Dogmatics, arrived at a simple definition of God as “the One who loves.”

Failures are not final

Many of the well-known characters of the Bible whom we look up to as examples of godliness, failed at one time or another. Abraham doubted God’s promise of a son and agreed to father a child with Hagar. Moses failed to obey God’s instructions and was barred from the Promised Land. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrated the death of her husband. In the New Testament, Peter betrayed Jesus, and Paul’s persecution of the church made him an enemy of Christianity.

Yet, in all of these cases, God not only restored these men but also affirmed them as His faithful servants. In the book of Hebrews, Abraham is listed as a great man of faith. Moses is called the greatest prophet in Israel. Nehemiah describes David as “the man of God.” Peter was restored by Jesus and directed to nurture His followers. Paul became the most profound leader of the early Christian community and wrote nearly half of the New Testament. Brennan Manning wrote, “Though God does not condone or sanction evil, He does not withhold His love because there is evil in us.”

When my wife counselled our five-year-old on a particular behaviour of his, she said, “There is nothing you could do to make me not love you.” Those are the words I believe God has for those of us who experience failure.

As a disciple of Jesus for 20 years, I find the journey exciting and challenging. The God to whom I offer my life and worship is not a soft, “everything-you-do-is-okay-by-me” God. Correction, consequences and discipline come my way by His will. However, they come via a father’s loving heart.

As disciples of Jesus, we want the world to fall in love with God. We will not draw them to do so if the God we present is unapproachable, unloving and unforgiving during times of failure. Our God carries not a “big stick,” but a big heart.

Philip A. Gunther is senior pastor of Parliament Community Church in Regina, SK.

Previous | Next 

Last modified August 31, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.