January 31, 2023 – “The Lord is My Rock”

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.” Psalm 18:1-5

Our relationship with G-d is at the heart of our moral life. And the images of G-d we form play an important role in how this relationship develops. For example, for most of my early life I had formed the image of G-d as an angry G-d, a harsh punisher and ultimate judge. As such my relationship with G-d was one formed out of fear – not love and grace. As Christians we have certain influences for forming an image of G-d: the Sacraments, prayer, and bible study. Each should have as much influence as our experiences in and out of the church. These all can and should influence how we think and feel about G-d. One image of G-d that comes to us through scripture comes from the Psalms (18, 62). These suggest the image of G-d as “Rock” – “The Lord is my Rock, my fortress”; “G-d alone is my Rock and my salvation.” The bible offers a wide variety of other images including fire, love, shepherd, shelter, bread of life, and the Holy One. And the parables point to an intimate, loving G-d.

Now you may not be comfortable thinking about or comparing G-d to a rock, or fire or even bread, but we should not hold just one image of G-d in our hearts. We need to multiply our images of G-d. Different images help us to appreciate different aspects of G-d, who, truthfully is always greater than any human description. Most of all, we need to remember that G-d is love.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, each image we have of you only adds to the mystery of your presence. Help me to see you as you want me to see you today – whatever image that may be. Amen.

Pastor Dave