Is God Your Cuddle-Soft Grandpappy?

Yesterday I preached “Your Jesus Is Too Small,” from Colossians 1:14-23.  This text, the “Christ Hymn,” is slam-dunk proof that Jesus is way more than what we make of Him.  Just a quick scan of these verses is enough to prove the greatness of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ:

• He is the image of the invisible God …
• by Him all things were created …
• He is the head of the body, the church
• He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead …

And it’s clear that the one and only way in which we’ve been reconciled to God is through the cross of Christ.

But we make God so small.  Yesterday I talked about how we envision God in our minds.  I presented five “images of a small god” for you — five ways in which we reduce God.

Soft Grandfather

Today, think about the cute, wizened, old grandfather god that so many of us picture in our mind.  A doting, kindly (and maybe even brain-addled) old man who pats us on the head every so often when he rouses from nap time.  Would you really trust the care of the universe and the fate of your immortal soul to that?  Is your cuddle-soft grandfather going to break bad with Satan, whom Scripture describes as a roaring lion, a dragon, a serpent, a sea monster?

Probably not.  But Jesus is.

Take some time in prayer today to say goodbye to false grandfather god.  Send him on his way, to play with the Easter bunny, Jack Frost, Gumby and Little Red Riding Hood.  Then embrace Jesus for who He is and what He has done.