There is an old story, originally of Indian origin, of five blind men who are all asked to describe an elephant. It is a fitting parable for perception of all things by all people. I have been accused of "not being the man I thought you were" and I have heard many people complain of God as not what they thought him to be. Here is the story by way of illustration.
The first blind man leaned up against the side of the elephant and exclaimed, "An elephant is like a wall." The second blind man felt of the legs of the elephant and said, "No, the elephant is very much like a tree trunk." The third blind man was examining the ears of the elephant and said, "The elephant is like a fan." The fourth blind man was holding the elephant's trunk in his hands and thought the elephant was much like a fire hose. The fifth blind man holding on to the elephants tail said, "The elephant feels very much like a rope."
Of course all of them had a brief "look" at the elephant, and described it based on their own experiences. The problem is that in truth none of them had the entire picture of the nature and image of what an elephant was really like. These features described were of course the physical features of the elephant and didn't even begin to describe the temperament or character of this gentle giant of an animal. Even though true, they were also only part of the truth, kind of like a puzzle with some missing pieces.
Men have complained about God since the concept of God came among them. Some of them see the God of the Old Testament, full of wrath, ready to turn you into a pillar of salt just for looking back at the sin you just left. Others see him as love itself, mercy personified, or divine Providence. For the same event, some men blame God while others thank him for his mercy. How can they all be right? Are any of them? The fact is that every one of us has our own vision of what God is like. We have had a glimpse of His nature, His character, and His image; but none of us have "seen" God. We are all like the blind men describing the elephant.
Throughout my life, I have been accused of many things which are not true. My ex wife complained that I "was not the man [she] married". What she thought I was may have been true, but just like the parts of the elephant, it was only part of the true person that I am. The other things were true too, but she unjustly extrapolated a small part of my personae to all aspects of my life and then cried foul when I acted differently. I do not change to please the jury and I never have. Then of course, there are the people who have seen some small semblance of something and assumed that it was true of me all the time, if it was true at all. None of them bothered to ask, and some of them never bothered to even get to know me, and so they do not know better.
God and I are what we are. He is just, all-knowing, merciful, good, kind, patient, vengeful, etc. I am serious, spontaneous, a planner, fun-loving, etc. We are not those things at the same time all the time. Some people never get to know me. Some people know me better than to follow every assertion or allegation. Some people never get to know God. Some people follow whatever wind of doctrine is passed to them by another man about God.
How do you "see" God? How do men "see" you? I decided a long time ago that if I am going to be damned, I might as well be damned for what I really am. people who know me at all know that I am what I purport myself to be, and they know better than to believe whatever jonny come lately tells them about me.
The first blind man leaned up against the side of the elephant and exclaimed, "An elephant is like a wall." The second blind man felt of the legs of the elephant and said, "No, the elephant is very much like a tree trunk." The third blind man was examining the ears of the elephant and said, "The elephant is like a fan." The fourth blind man was holding the elephant's trunk in his hands and thought the elephant was much like a fire hose. The fifth blind man holding on to the elephants tail said, "The elephant feels very much like a rope."
Of course all of them had a brief "look" at the elephant, and described it based on their own experiences. The problem is that in truth none of them had the entire picture of the nature and image of what an elephant was really like. These features described were of course the physical features of the elephant and didn't even begin to describe the temperament or character of this gentle giant of an animal. Even though true, they were also only part of the truth, kind of like a puzzle with some missing pieces.
Men have complained about God since the concept of God came among them. Some of them see the God of the Old Testament, full of wrath, ready to turn you into a pillar of salt just for looking back at the sin you just left. Others see him as love itself, mercy personified, or divine Providence. For the same event, some men blame God while others thank him for his mercy. How can they all be right? Are any of them? The fact is that every one of us has our own vision of what God is like. We have had a glimpse of His nature, His character, and His image; but none of us have "seen" God. We are all like the blind men describing the elephant.
Throughout my life, I have been accused of many things which are not true. My ex wife complained that I "was not the man [she] married". What she thought I was may have been true, but just like the parts of the elephant, it was only part of the true person that I am. The other things were true too, but she unjustly extrapolated a small part of my personae to all aspects of my life and then cried foul when I acted differently. I do not change to please the jury and I never have. Then of course, there are the people who have seen some small semblance of something and assumed that it was true of me all the time, if it was true at all. None of them bothered to ask, and some of them never bothered to even get to know me, and so they do not know better.
God and I are what we are. He is just, all-knowing, merciful, good, kind, patient, vengeful, etc. I am serious, spontaneous, a planner, fun-loving, etc. We are not those things at the same time all the time. Some people never get to know me. Some people know me better than to follow every assertion or allegation. Some people never get to know God. Some people follow whatever wind of doctrine is passed to them by another man about God.
How do you "see" God? How do men "see" you? I decided a long time ago that if I am going to be damned, I might as well be damned for what I really am. people who know me at all know that I am what I purport myself to be, and they know better than to believe whatever jonny come lately tells them about me.
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