In 1984 I found myself on the National Mall in Washington D.C. with 750,000 other people. While they were all clambering to see the Beach Boys in concert my attention was stolen by another. It was on that fateful day I first encountered the one and only Mr. T. In my memory we fist pumped each other & hung out, but in reality I only saw him from a great distance as he was on stage. It may have only been a brief encounter, one in which we never actually talked, made eye contact, or even got within 100 feet of each other, but it was still a powerful encounter.
It was that encounter that drove me to pursue further encounters with him through his t.v. show, The A-Team. Just like any meaningful encounter I began to be shaped by these interactions together. Before long I found myself reflecting the image of Mr. T by wearing a chain like his.
We have all had encounters that shaped us. These encounters or meaningful interactions leave an imprint upon us. Regardless of whether these encounters are full of life or death they have the power to shape who we are and how we see the world–more importantly, they have the power to shape how we see God. And that is why God is so adamant and consistent about pursuing us in order to reveal to us his true nature to us. It is these God encounters that allow us to see God’s nature, because when we experience his true nature, transformation occurs in our lives. The scriptures are full of people who had transforming encounters with God, and as we read about their encounters, we can learn about who God is.
One such is example is found at the beginning of time, when God creates Adam and Eve. It was in this first intimate encounter of creation that God reveals his nature as loving–He gave identity to humanity as he made Adam and Eve in his own image. God then revealed his nature as provider by providing them with a purpose–the purpose of re-present his image in all the world. He continued to unpack his nature to them as generous, trustworthy, and present by placing them in an idyllic home in Eden where every need they had was provided for in abundance.
We also see in the creation story how God’s true nature has come under attack from the beginning of time. The serpent comes to Eve and attacks God’s nature as generous when he twists God’s words (Gen. 3:1). He distorts God’s trustworthy nature when he accuses God of being a liar (Gen. 3:4). God had created humanity to be his presentation on earth and so he had made Adam and Eve in his image. The serpent took a version of the truth (that humans were to be like God) but he removed God from the equation–by proclaiming there was another way to be like God–by eating the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:5). He exchanged the truth for a lie and both man and woman devoured the lie as they ate the forbidden fruit.
By eating the fruit that God has commanded them to avoid, Adam and Eve stepped into sin, and brought all of humanity with them. But it was then that God reinforced his nature as one who is always loving and always providing. In the middle of sin, God pursues humanity. He shows up and covers their shame, he reveals his trustworthiness by being faithful to hold them to consequences he promised and he showed them how he would always be with them as he prophesied about the one who would come to crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).
God is coming, always coming to reveal his true nature to us. He is coming to redeem every negative encounter you have had. He is coming to give you hope. He is coming to show you who he really is. He is coming because he loves you.
Will you receive his coming? How will you make space in your life this week to position yourself to encounter God?
A Look Behind the Curtain 