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by R. L. Christopher (Author)
The Character of God versus a Caricature of God...just stop and think about that for a moment. In doing so, maybe it's helpful to think about a caricature that's been done of you - or just a caricature that you've seen done by sidewalk artists or wherever. Does the caricature truly represent the person or people in the drawing? Imagine for a moment that someone you've never met before sees a caricature of you and then proceeds to introduce you to others (publically or privately) based on the distorted image of you that they have in their head. They don't necessarily recognize that it's a distortion, so they also don't communicate to others that it's a distortion. In fact, there's a good chance they present the distortion as fact - as reality. So this obviously begs the question of whether the people you have now been "introduced" to would actually recognize the real you. Would you be able to pass them on the street without them really recognizing you or if you showed up on stage would it confuse them? Let's take it one step further - what if the person who was introducing you to others using the caricature of you as the "real" you was not a stranger, but was your son or daughter? What implications would that have on the introduction? And more importantly, what implications would that have on your relationship with your son or daughter? Would you wonder if they really knew you - the real you? Would you wonder why they believed the distorted version to be fact? Would this realization potentially provide insight as to why there might be barriers in your relationship? Obviously, you know exactly where I'm going with this - or at least I hope you do - but is there a possibility we have done or are doing the same thing when it comes to God? Do we really know God for His character or do we only know a caricature of Him? I think this is a question that is relevant to everyone - whether we've known Him our entire life or if we were just introduced to Him moments ago. One of the many amazing things about God (although it can also be quite frustrating for our human minds) is that because He is God we will never know everything about Him completely. This obviously is one of the things that makes Him God and definitely makes Him a God worth serving, but it also means that we always have the ability to grow in our knowledge of Him and into a greater depth of relationship with Him. With that said, I definitely want to mention a few things about this book. First, it is not an exhaustive, all-inclusive list of the attributes of God. There are plenty others that can and should be sought out. Secondly, but kind of along the same lines, it is only intended to be a guide or a tool. God promises that as we sincerely seek Him, we will find Him - and He is a much better guide, so listen to and follow Him over the contents of this book always. Additionally, I should mention that several attributes are similar but different. So it's important to look at each attribute individually, but not to the extent of forgetting that they are connected and part of the same person - so there will definitely be some overlapping. Furthermore, God is God - which means we cannot fully comprehend or put into words all that He is. So lastly, enjoy the journey. Enjoy the journey of getting to know Him more and more for who He is because it is a journey meant to be enjoyed.
