The god of Your Imagination

Audio Version

Perhaps you are familiar with the idea of a higher power. Or, maybe you've heard the phrase, "the god of our understanding." Currently we hear even noble and godly men defending the concept of an intelligent designer of this incredible universe.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here. In fact, I point cheerfully to the story of Paul preaching to the men of Athens. He commended them (in a way) for their altar TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Of course, they didn't actually know this God. They were just trying to cover their bases. They were kind of being superstitious. They worshipped fruitlessly and in ignorance.

The Yahweh of true Judaism and of Christianity is indeed a Higher Power. In fact, He is the highest of all powers. And, no doubt about it, He is the Intelligent Designer behind the glories we see all around us. Of course, He is only the "God of our understanding" if our understanding is in line with the definition delineated in Holy Writ.

My problem with such general, nebulous, nonspecific designations for God is that they are simply insufficient and ineffectual. God is more than just The Great Spirit.

All roads do not lead to heaven. All spokes can't be traced back to the same source. All supposed divinities are not equal. All religions are not equally valid. All spiritual pursuits are not worthy of our attention. Not all sincere people are sincerely right. Many are sincerely wrong. In fact, most are wrong.

See, it really boils down to this. The God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob is the Creator of all things. He made those who worship Him. Every other god is the invention of those who worship them. How puny and sad! Every god except Jehovah is the god of someone's imagination. They only exist in the minds of their own pitiful manufacturers. Although doubtless they do serve as avatars for demonic spirits.

I like to point out that the One true God is "The I Am." He is the God that is. Every other god is "a god that ain't." My God is the God of the Bible. He is the God that exists. Every other god doesn't even really exist. They are mere projections of men's minds. Every system of morality or spirituality that deviates from (or runs contrary to) the Bible is part of the old Luciferian conspiracy to usurp God's throne.

Well now, that isn't very open minded of me, is it?

Let me put it this way. Jesus demanded exclusivity. Doubtless you are familiar with His words, "Nobody comes to the Father unless they come through me."

This resonates with the Old Testament record. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. The Messiah that Danial looked for is the same Christ that Peter, James, and John followed. And this One who is the Lord of all lords made this claim: "I am God and there is none else. Beside Me there is no Savior. No, I know not of any"(Isaiah 44:8, 45:5, 18, 22 & 46:9).

So why exactly do we make up deities? Is it just because we don't know the true One? Perhaps that's not actually the problem. More accurately, we want to be our own god. That's what the Devil used in the garden with Adam and Eve: "Oh, you can be like gods." And that was it. They were hooked. We were hooked.

It's like Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:29, "This only have I found, that God has made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Yes, even inventing replacements for our Maker.

Question: what is your "god" like? Does the description that lives in your mind match the truth about Him that rises up out of the pages of Scripture? If the traits and characteristics in our understanding aren't the same as what the Bible propounds, how can we claim to be His devotees? Let us dare to compare our concepts and assumptions with written revelation. For our faith to be legitimate, it must rest in something much greater than a figment of our self-serving mind.

The god of man's imagination can do nothing. He has no reality at all. The God of Revelation can do anything and everything. He is the very source and judge of all reality.