what I say about who He is

We had a great time at church together...a 90 minute church service will forever seem SO short to all of us!  It seemed like the service was over a moment after it started...even Lily was shocked!  "All done?!"

Then, while the girls were napping, I finally got to finish my "house rules" happy craft I've been working on!  I miss happy crafting so much when we're in Haiti that I go a little nuts when we're in the States :)  I've been wanting to make a canvas like this for our home for a long time!  

This afternoon Lily, Matt and Grandpa are going to a movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked...bound to be a classic :) and I'm hoping to catch up with some good friends on the phone.  

I had a short "devotional moment" in church this morning.  The speaker shared a great message about the words of Jesus and how much what He says matters.  But there were several times that he used little cliches from today (that I've used before) that I realized indirectly said something about WHO God is.  I never thought much about theology until Matt came into my life, but have realized these past years how much our words, lives and testimonies can affect what people think God is like...who He is.  

For example, when the speaker spoke about a time in his life when he was convicted about tearing others down, he said that "God hit me with a ton of bricks."

I get the expression, and we say stuff like this all the time.  But for some reason today, feeling a bit like a foreigner in American church, I thought about what this SAYS about who God is.  Does God do that?  Drop bricks on us when we sin?  Slap us with pain and suffering because we aren't pleasing Him?  Is that our theology of God?  Probably not.  But is that what others are hearing?

Or, "Every day, we just fail to obey God, but it's ok, because God understands"  I know that he was trying to share grace instead of guilt, but doesn't the Bible say that it is NOT ok?  Doesn't He ask us to be Holy, to be like Christ, even to be perfect?

So, if others hear us say this on the surface, is it possible that underneath that are hearing that our God is One who gives commands He has no intention of us keeping...just for fun or just to see us squirm or something?  Or that He wants us to obey Him but totally understands (ie...doesn't mind) when we don't? 

What does that say about His character?  What did we just say about who He is?

I may not be a theologian, but it made me realize how careful I need to be with my words and with my actions, as one who claims to emit God.  I claim to know Him.  I'm introducing Him to people of different cultures and experiences and mindsets all the time through my words and actions.  I need to be SO careful that I'm sharing who He REALLY is, according to His Word, on a direct AND indirect level.  

 Ever heard anyone say something 'normal' about God, and think, man, that just doesn't sound right!

This has me thinking today!