God is Not a Man

I recently spoke at our church's youth group and the title of my sermon was "God is Not a Man". Shocker, right? Well to some people this could be confusing or borderline blasphemous. For others, it's just a conversation starter. Let me explain my journey to this conclusion.

About three years ago I was attending a Christian college, I was an RA, and I was trying to pursue my degree in Social Work whole-heartedly. In the midst of college life, my relationship and my understanding of the Lord got pushed to the side. I attended chapel a couple times a week and I was living in a 'good' environment so I didn't pursue the need to expand my understanding of God. I just happened to stumble into a conversation which completely shifted my perspective of him. Some would say coincidence, I say divine planning.

I was having lunch with my old boss and I can remember before every meeting I would tell myself 'I don't feel like talking a lot today, I don't want to have deep conversations, I don't want my thoughts and feelings analyzed'. Somehow that never worked out. We always ended up having meaningful conversation and I didn't know it at the time but she taught me a lot about myself and about the Lord.

Anyways, we were eating a dry sandwich and some creamy, unhealthy soup. It was a cloudy day. Somehow we got talking about God and all of a sudden I had this revelation. God is NOT a man. It might have been inspired by something I was doing earlier in the day, I can't really remember. But either way, sincethat moment my comprehension of God, of the God of the entire universe, has been shifted.

In layman's terms, my mind was blown.

I once heard a pastor say, God isnt Gender-less he is Gender-full.

Was I allowed to think this? Could I ever share this revelation with other people, or would they think I was a liberal, hippie, feel-good Christian? I've thought a lot about this. And I have come to a conclusion: it's my opinion. I'm going to share my opinion whenever someone wishes to hear it. Simple as that.

We try to make God fit our mold. Many artists over the centuries have tried to depict the Lord and I would say the majority of them display him as an old man with a white beard, floating on a cloud. They depict him as towering over us, looking down with all his white-haired wisdom, constantly watching. I realized that is not God. That's not the God I see or I want to see. (Disclaimer* I do fully believe Jesus was a man, that is historically recorded)

So, how did this revelation free my mind? I believe our understanding of God changes our relationship with him (or her) ;).

I believe by pursuing and seeking the Lord and expanding my understanding, I will also expand my relationship. And it is my personal opinion nothing bad will ever come of expanding our understanding of the Lord and our relationship with him. It's a win-win!

Humankind was created as Gods reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them." Genesis 1:27

We were created in God's image! God's image is both female and male. Interesting... huh?