What is your Image of God?
A reflection for a meeting for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Monday, May 4, 2015
by Dcn Bob Bonomi
During a recent retreat for deacons at the local Montserrat Retreat Center, one of our talks was on our image of God as a reflection of our life experiences. Often people have an image of God as Judge and Jury, a god who weighs all of our actions throughout our lives on a balancing scale – good actions on one side, bad on the other. If the good outweigh the bad when we die, we “earn” our place in heaven, and if not: oh-oh.
Even if we think that God places a higher value on those events that come later in our lives as we strive to do more good to offset our past, we still live in fear of the judgment of God, rather than relying on His Mercy. After all, maybe we DESERVE to be punished, right?
This can be especially true for those who we encounter through our visits through St. Vincent de Paul. Often these people think that the difficulties they face are a sign that they are being punished by God for some real or perceived infraction of God’s Rules, or that God cannot possibly care for them because they are not worthy of His Love. The very assistance that you bring to them may even add to their low esteem, as they are not able to provide for themselves. They cannot understand that we are ALL dependent on God’s Love and Mercy, and the challenges that we face we do not face alone.
More than the gifts of charity that you bring to those you aid, you are bringing the presence of Christ as the God of Love and Mercy, and the one of the greatest gifts that you can share with them is the gift of Hope. But in order to accept that gift, they must open their hearts to a different vision of God – not one of judge and jury, but one of love and mercy. YOU are the reflection of God they see and touch; and it is YOUR image of God that they see.
So, think about your own image of God. How do YOU picture God? Do you have a healthy image of God – as Father? As Son? As Spirit? Is He loving and merciful, or judgmental and condemning?
When people encounter you, who do they see?
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