God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” – Exodus 3:14 (NIV)
In the Bible, God is shown in many ways. He is portrayed as a consuming fire, merciful, Lord of lords, our refuge, a rock, our Saviour, faithful plus many other things. Our is God is multifaceted and not limited to one viewpoint. So, why do many stick to one denomination’s doctrine or view of God?
When you attend one church for a long period, you become use to the teachings and interpretation of that church. You only see what is front of you and not what is around you. What most people fail to recognise is that one church’s view of God is never completely right. Our view of God can be hindered by our own experiences and what we have been taught by others.
To see the many sides of God, we need to be open to the views and teachings of other churches. While it is true that we must test things, we hear by checking the Bible, on the whole, we should be willing to listen and learn. You shouldn’t be afraid to attend a Baptist church if you’ve been going to a Lutheran church just because they don’t worship or praise God in the same way.
In essence, our faith in God should be as wide and as high as He is, and it should never be narrow. Going to other churches and experiencing their interpretation of God’s word is, broadens our views. When we see others loving God in different ways, we learn more about Him. Just as God had many different sides, so should our faith.
Staying and sticking to one church’s view may be bad for our spiritual health. Seeing and knowing only one view of God might make us stagnant and even complacent. Sometimes, we can even become arrogant in thinking that our church is doing everything right while others are not. Just as God doesn’t limit himself to one church, we shouldn’t either.
No one view of God, even a bad one, is completely right. As humans, we will never get the full picture of God, but we should try our best not to limit it. Finding out what others say and think about God is an important part of our growth. In the same way we break away from our parents to learn more about the world, so we should be willing to break away to find out more about God.
Breaking away does not necessarily mean leaving your church. It means being more willing to be open to things like accepting invitations to visit another church. You can also read some of the publications or even attend seminars. Learning about how others see God is far better sticking to one narrow view.
Even if you choose not to go to other churches, the important thing is to learn more about God. When you break away from your limited view of God, your faith will grow.
Originally published September 2019