I have a large index card with different names for God
written all over it. I pull it out during times of prayer when I want to remind
myself of the different aspects of God’s being. It contains comfort: “Light of
Light, Healer, Redeemer, Counselor, Spirit of Truth, Star of the Morning.” Some
are philosophical: “I am, The Word, The Way.” And others more descriptive: “The
One Who Hears, The Lord Will Provide, Savior.” I would have said I had a
comprehensive list, and that taken together, most angles on the God of the
Bible were covered.

But then this morning, I was reading Genesis 31, where Jacob
calls God, “The Fear of Isaac.” No wonder Isaac named God “The Fear.” It was
God, after all, who asked Abraham to slaughter Isaac on a mountaintop and only
provided a sacrificial ram at the last minute. But is there a place for that
name on my prayer card?

It is tempting to want to create an image for God based upon who I want God to be. For me, that temptation means wanting God to be gracious without passing judgment, to intervene in lives so that the consequences of immorality are diminished, to be a really nice guy who cares for human beings.

There’s truth to my image of God as one who is gracious and loving and merciful. But that truth becomes a fiction if it isn’t tethered to the fullness of God’s nature, the fullness of the one who cares about our immorality as it offends the order of the universe and the integrity of God’s being… the fullness of the one who refuses to let sin go unjudged… the fullness of the one who is “grace AND truth”… the fullness of the one who was known by the patriarchs as “the Fear.”

I suspect I will always struggle with Isaac’s name for God. I will always be tempted to make God in my own image rather than allowing God to unsettle my understanding of his nature.  But to take one step closer to knowing God, I need to submit myself to the full extent of his character. And yet I must also remember that this fear comes only in the context of a God who is also called Love.

What are your images of God? Where do they come from? Do they challenge you?