Are you trying to create God in your own image?

Are You Trying to Create God in Your Own Image?

Posted on by Michele Morin

Sunday Scripture

We hear the disclaimers after every major tragedy: “God had nothing to do with this! A good God would never have allowed it to happen.” Trying to let God off the hook for the inexplicable and ignoring scripture’s affirmation of God’s sovereign control over life and death, some misguided God-followers even question the existence of hell.

Ever since the waiting room at the foot of Mt. Sinai where Aaron frantically fashioned a visible god to calm everyone’s nerves, the people of God have fallen into the trap of taming God, flattening out his words on the page, stuffing and mounting the invisible God in an attempt to explain away his other-ness.

How comfy and safe it would be to worship a predictable god, made in my own image. A psalm writer aptly summed up the work of the misguided worshipers of his day:

Those who make them are like them;
    so are all who trust in them.

Psalm 115:8

Anne Lamott’s quirky irreverence drives the point home: “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

Framing the question from a positive viewpoint might be more helpful: Do you love the people and the things God loves? A quick reading of the Sermon on the Mount directs our hearts toward the meek rather than the entertaining, toward those who realize their poverty of spirit rather than the confident movers and shakers who might be more fun to share a table with at a church supper.

Creating a Predictable, Safe “God”

Do you leave room for mystery in your understanding of God or are you fairly confident of your abilty to predict his next move? Granted, God has revealed himself to us in scripture, but C.S. Lewis put wisdom about God into the mouth of a talking Beaver who warns us about putting God in a box.

“Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

God is utterly unlike the home-crafted idols of Psalm 115, made of “metal and wood, handmade in a basement shop:
“Carved mouths that can’t talk,
    painted eyes that can’t see,
Tin ears that can’t hear,
    molded noses that can’t smell,
Hands that can’t grasp, feet that can’t walk or run,
    throats that never utter a sound” (Psalm 115:4-7 MSG).

God comes with an agenda of his own.
He is not available for my convenience or for my profit.

When my life goes in a direction I did not anticipate, I find it helpful to remember that God is never taken off guard, never surprised by circumstances–even if they seem to me to be “out of control.”

Leaning into this following life, let’s study God’s ways, thrive on the discipline of spiritual reading, and cultivate an intimate walk with him. But let us never forget that he is the Lord, and there is no other. May we never stop learning and being amazed!

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:22

Holding you in the light,

Since Aaron fashioned a visible god to calm everyone’s nerves, God’s people have fallen into the trap of taming God, flattening out God’s words on the page, stuffing and mounting the invisible God, explaining away his otherness.

The new issue of Joyful Life Magazine can now be pre-ordered, and it includes an article from me! Look for “If I’m Already Forgiven, Why Do I Need to Confess My Sins?” Too, my friend Sue Moore Donaldson is sharing her thoughts on spiritual growth. The fall print publication will orient our gaze toward the beautiful growth and change that the Lord is working in our hearts and our homes.

Best of all, the first 100 to pre-order will receive some special bonus gifts.

PREORDER HERE!

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and six adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

25 thoughts on “Are You Trying to Create God in Your Own Image?”

  1. Your reflection here today, Michele, truly spoke to me. How often have I wanted God to be what I think He should be? May the Lord forgive me, forgive us, when we dare to imagine we can understand Him. Let us simply worship in faith and reverence.
    Blessings!

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  4. So true, if we are not challenged by God, or if we think we fully understand him, there’s a good chance that we are trying to create him in our own image. His ways are not always ours.

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  5. There are so many points in this that could be posts of their own – topics for good discussion – from the Lamont quote, to the man-made idols, to this: “God comes with an agenda of his own. He is not available for my convenience or for my profit.” One of the most redeeming, liberating truths God has shown me – you mention that, too – that He is not surprised, though I am. I wish I had know that decades ago – as far back as when I was a child. How that would have changed where I put so much energy that was really wasted.

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    1. I would love to have a conversation about this last point. I have also let myself sink into my surprise and feel resentful of God, questioning his right to step outside my comfort zone and my will. Amazing what a comfort we can find in acceptance of his sovereignty!

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  6. It’s strange and sad how we continually try to conform God to our image instead of conforming ourselves to His. We need those consistent reminders that He is God and we and our images are not.

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  8. I’m old enough to have seen the proof and lived through the experiences that affirm exactly what you’ve said, Michele. A big AMEN from this corner! This statement especially spoke to me: “When my life goes in a direction I did not anticipate, I find it helpful to remember that God is never taken off guard, never surprised by circumstances–even if they seem to me to be ‘out of control.'” Appropriate words for our country and the rest of the world right now as we face perilous times.

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  9. Discovering who God really is has been a lifelong journey for me. I appreciate that quote from Anne Lamott too (I’m currently reading her newest book and enjoying her way with words and insights). May we all grow more in seeing God as he truly is, not just who we *think* we want him to be. Thanks, Michele!

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  11. Michele, this goes right along with some pondering I’ve been doing about God’s sovereignty in relation to Covid. 😂 I haven’t quite figured out if or how to write about it, but it’s comforting to be reminded of God’s “otherness”—and that He “comes with an agenda of his own” and “is not available for my convenience or for my profit.”

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