Many Americans feel familiar with God as he is described in the Bible. Even if they don’t know him well, they think they have the basic idea: he’s loving, he’s forgiving, he’s big. He sides with the little guy and he’s against abortion. He was once more uptight (the Old Testament) but now he’s more relaxed (the New Testament). Of course these beliefs rotate between truths, half truths, and falsehoods – but this makes up the general picture of the American “God as we understand him.”
As a result of this felt familiarity, certain things surprise us and certain things don’t. For example, we are surprised if we find out that, yes, the Bible describes a God who doesn’t flat out love everyone equally. On the other hand, we are not surprised when we are told that God is willing to forgive…even if it means a violent crucifixion.
Today I felt a little bit of renewed surprise as I pondered just one verse of Psalm 60:
“O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.” (Psalm 60:1)
Isn’t it something that the prayers in the Bible move from “you have rejected us” to “oh, restore us”? Not only “forgive us” which is a natural expression of self-defense, but “restore us.” It’s a bold prayer. It doesn’t make sense, really.
I am encouraged by knowing that even when I fail (whether I know I have failed or not), there are prayers that I can pray. God is willing to not only forgive, but to restore - to make whole.
May our weak understanding of God be forgiven and made whole as well.
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