Too often in times past, and sadly still occasionally in the present, God is portrayed as harsh, judgemental, even vindictive – a God who anyone in their right minds would be scared of. That, for me, runs contrary to everything I believe. The God we worship is surely ‘full of compassion and grace, patient and overflowing in forgiveness and truth’ (Psalm 86:15); ‘slow to anger and great in mercy; good to all’ (Psalm 145:8-9). The profound contrast between the two understandings is one I attempted to capture in the following prayer, taken from The Little Book of Wild Animal Prayers and reprinted in The Animal Lover’s Daily Prayer Book.
Teach me, Lord,
that you are not fierce and forbidding,
as some suppose,
but gentle and full of love –
that, for all your mighty power,
you encircle us each day in your loving arms.
Amen.
Thanks Lesley. Yes indeed, it’s tragic how many people’s understanding of God has been shaped by fear instead of love.