The character of God is so deep and beyond our ability to imagine or think, the basis of what is written in the scripture is an encounter with this God who created everything and sent His only son to die for us so everyone who trusted in Him would live forever.
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In a sense, how we interpret the scriptures is like a portrait of the God we have encountered. As beautiful or grotesque some of these paintings become, they are not a replacement of scripture and they don't necessarily represent the God that was being depicted by scripture.
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Sometimes there is a sense of irritation when someone paints a picture that does not use our backdrop of the scene, sometimes the painting seems totally wrong. However, it is important to note that our interpretation and scripture are not the same thing and our painting and even God's will are not the same thing.
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According to Romans 12:2, we may understand what God's will for our life is, but as Peter was advised that knowing the will of God for John's life was none of his business in the Gospel, so it is nowadays.
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What matters is that we keep painting. We are children of God, being creative is important. It's not like we can get it right anyway. It is important to paint and imagine, take in the paintings of others and imagine how wide, and deep, and full this love of God is, to so love the world, to so love everyone. What matters is growing to become like Him, and trust and love are a big part of that. (Galatians 5:6)
.
In a sense, how we interpret the scriptures is like a portrait of the God we have encountered. As beautiful or grotesque some of these paintings become, they are not a replacement of scripture and they don't necessarily represent the God that was being depicted by scripture.
.
Sometimes there is a sense of irritation when someone paints a picture that does not use our backdrop of the scene, sometimes the painting seems totally wrong. However, it is important to note that our interpretation and scripture are not the same thing and our painting and even God's will are not the same thing.
.
According to Romans 12:2, we may understand what God's will for our life is, but as Peter was advised that knowing the will of God for John's life was none of his business in the Gospel, so it is nowadays.
.
What matters is that we keep painting. We are children of God, being creative is important. It's not like we can get it right anyway. It is important to paint and imagine, take in the paintings of others and imagine how wide, and deep, and full this love of God is, to so love the world, to so love everyone. What matters is growing to become like Him, and trust and love are a big part of that. (Galatians 5:6)
