Different Ways of Looking at God

Christian faith emphasizes revelation. As believers, we take seriously the fact that we know about God only because God has chosen to reveal God’s self to us. When we stop and think about it, it is amazing that God gives any thought to us at all. But it is even more amazing that God wants to enter into relationship with us. Christians believe that God’s ultimate revelation to us is in the incarnation. Jesus Christ, who was God with us and the Word made flesh, came as a sign of God’s kingdom breaking into the world.

Along the way to Jesus, though, the biblical writers employed many images and metaphors in their attempts to communicate God’s revelation. Some of those images are familiar: Father, Shepherd, Judge, and King, for example. In fact, these images are so familiar that we need to revisit them frequently and to ponder their meaning.

In this unit we will examine some less familiar metaphors for God from the Psalms and the Minor Prophets: God as Rock, as Storm, as Fire, and as Beast. Each of these vivid images communicates aspects of God’s character. As we understand more about God through this imagery, our relationship with God and our faith in God are strengthened.

These images are not to be taken literally; God is not literally a rock or a storm or a fire or a beast, just as Jesus is not literally a door or a light. Still, we should take the imagery seriously because we want to know God and be known by God. God knows everything about us, although we can never know everything about God. Even so, God has revealed God’s self to us in varied ways. All those ways are gifts that we should gladly and enthusiastically receive.