Hello everyone,
This question is sparked by the so often described image of Father as unreachable or needing of intervention by a 'Third Party' - read here 'priest' or 'monk' or whatever - and the so strongly believed by those suffering in religious darkness image of Father as cruel and murderous and hate filled.

When I have been asked before what my image of Father is, I say that I take my concept of the most perfect 'human' parent and multiply it by several million, and use that 'measure' if you will, for if my personal concept of the most perfect human parent would not do a 'thing' then Father would be unable to do such a 'thing', trying not to couch my words in abstracts.

I would love to hear how others describe Father when they are asked.

Love,
Colin

By Ulla S. Qvistgaard on Friday, January 18, 2002 - 11:26 am:

Another one of your challenging questions, Colin, hmm…
Just as you do, I think I would try to simplify as much as possible, should anyone ask me this question. As it is, mostly children would ask such a question. Unfortunately very few adults pause to consider “who and how is God”. Such a pity. The various religions have seen to the demolition of the concept of a God who is close to us.
As you say, the concept of the most perfect human parent multiplied x~ times approaches the idea of God. I would add, God is also our most intimate friend, only he is of course totally void of any human flaws –and again, our ideal concept of “our best friend” should be multiplied immensely. Thus, God stands forth as someone so infinitely understanding that he/she knows me better than myself! Mind you, without trying to teach me how to become a better person. God would let myself handle my evolution in my own stride – as it actually happens, because he has given us free will and thought…
Something to live up to, really. In fact, an ideal!
Why is it that “idealistic” is a definition with which people try to put down others? “Poor idealist, so full of illusions…”
Are we? God is the ideal being. But many people do not believe in him – or they cannot envision him, so “ideal” becomes a word used for mocking others… Makes me think.

Exodus 3:14: “And God said to Moses: I am he who is.”

This is how God is defined in the Old Testament. Apparently, this is an inspired definition. “I am he who is”… Meaning, “I am Being” – I am someone who is always, I am eternity. I am Life itself. The chain of associations is rather simple – and yet philosophers and theologians have complicated the simplicity by writing impenetrable volumes on the mystery of God. They are not even sure whether God is a person or not.
Well, human uncertainty is everywhere, so it is not strange that only some aspects of our Father’s nature have been understood by the main religions.
It is a paradox. The principal exponents of the religions ought to be certain in their own minds before trying to explain to their “sheep” who God is and how we are supposed to approach him. But they cannot. I am strongly reminded once again of my favourite passage in Toward the Light:

“My children, I say unto you: put not exceeding trust in in your own power and strength, but be mindful that I, your Father, will give you all the power and all the strength that you need, so long as you strive for the Light, for the good, and for the true.” (TTL, page 31,8)

Alas, so often we forget that with the help of God, we are so much stronger. All it really takes is to trust ourselves to trust him.

Do you think God ever feels lonely? I sometimes visualize him in his home where he sits gazing sorrowfully (but not without hope – never without hope!) past the table with the teapot where the tea has grown cold (only figuratively, by all means!), out across his lovely potted plants on the windowsill… across the lawn and the peaceful gardens and the woods beyond – away towards the horizon and even further to the planet Earth so far far away. There, humankind mostly forget him, or they mistake him for someone else, a vengeful being, a god of wrath and bloody rites.
Yes, perhaps even God feels lonely every now and then.
But I also know that God grants us our every wish in life – if only we discover him and trust him.

“Our God and Father calls upon you – day and night – at all times his voice calls out for you!
Answer him, human beings!
Do you not hear him?”
(Q&A, end of question 73, second supplement)

and:

“Human beings, your Father yearns for you!”
(Speech of God’s Servant, TTL, page 137)

“When will you let your own will meet with the Will of your Father?” (idem, page 136)

So many questions…

Love to all,
Ulla

By Mara V azquez-Rest on Saturday, January 19, 2002 - 06:17 am:

Colin, what a wonderful question to ask.
Oh, if I only had the words! You have both put it very beautifully. I only have not replied to your post yet because I was still pondering the question, but since I will probably wonder how best to express it until I leave this planet I shall reply anyways.
I hear myself say different things to different people, depending on the person and occasion. Recently the 10-year-old boy that lives in our house asks me what religion I belong to. When I said 'none' he said 'oh, you're an atheist'. I told him no, that I do believe in God, but a God that is there for all people, and that essentially we all believe in the same God, we just give him different names. He asks me what name I give him and I said sometimes God, or father or mother. I did not get much further than that.
Sometimes I think af him in a motherly sense, of the times we just want to melt into this eternal embrace, all loving and comforting. I believe he is to us whatever we need him to be most in the moment, if we need strenght or clarity, or be more loving and forgiving, more peaceful and joyfull, he is everything for us at all times.
Yes, Ulla, I have wondered that too, if he gets lonely sometimes, and how much he must look forward for us to change our ways, the answer in the Question Nr. 73 of Questions and Answers is so beautiful and moving.
I will keep looking for better ways to express it. I was wondering what to say, should my son ask me some day. Well, I have some time. Unfortunately I don't get to talk about fascinating things like this too often.
A radiant being, the most pure, loving, beautiful. When I was lonely sometimes or could not sleep (that does not happen anymore)I would just lie there and think of eternity amd of being in Gods kingdom some day, barely remembering the sad times of earth and to imagine where we will all go... after life on earth is over, and we are all together.
Sometimes people told me that being nice is boring, that peace is boring - I had people get so mad at me because I could not get agressive. I am completely inapt at arguing and fighting. Many have tried, a psychologist in Germany once argued with me that agression is healthy, that we all need to 'let it out'. I almost lost some friends because they could not fight with me. I would listen calmly, and if they hurt me I never felt like hurting them back, just asking why, but so many found this very alienating. And now I am completely straying from the subject. I was just thinking of my father saying that he does not like harmony, that it is nice to have all those people with all their flaws in heaven, otherwise it would be boring (argument against reincarnation). As if we had even seen as much as a grain of sand of what there is of light, of how infinitely beautiful and fascinating it is.
Now before I ramble on some more when I should be sleeping or working, sorry I wrote so much, not even really on the subject, I better get to bed. Lots of love and light to you all,
Mara

By Tstorey on Tuesday, March 05, 2002 - 05:17 am:

Good question:

To spend a lifetime pondering.

With my daughter I prefer to refer to God in female way.

I have to throw out that, for a woman, God would have to be mostly estrogen. Couldn't really be any other way. How could anyone understand the 'other' dominant hormone?

This might explain all those 'authors' skewing God into 'father.' He is, for them, testosterone.

The next limitation is the mind and the language the mind uses.

We all have a way of being. Some of us are more emotional, some of us less.

The only way I could offer a description of God would be a feeling.

This feeling has no words. All the words just don't cut it.

All the thoughts just say...."really, don't bother with this one...."

Fun to try though.

By Morten on Tuesday, March 05, 2002 - 10:24 pm:

"Youth, purity and beauty, in the most sublime form, are expressions of his personal appearance. His countenance carries an infinitely loving, but sad air. Sorrow and pain rest in his deep, inscrutable look, because he carries all the sufferings and sorrows of the creation in his mind."

This image of our Father made a strong impression on me.

By Nimalon on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 04:35 pm:

To shape the words in a way that describes ones experience of god in a way that someone without the memory of such experience can relate to, this is much like trying to inspire someone to get close enough to see and feel god by himself, rather than actually describe something.

Words are but symbols of more or less weak thoughts we can relate to and combine, but none of these are pure enough to describe God.

However - the citate that Morten related to describes God much as I once did experience him/her myself. Though I would like to try it out..

When I think about God it is like experiencing oneself, the innermost essence of oneself but extreemly much stronger. It is a conciousness so deep and willfull that it can bring order to the chaos it first emerged within.

The feeling of loneliness does not describe gods feelings, even though at first he was the only one alive and awake in the universe. His feelings was rather calm and happiness due to his victory over the influence of darkness.

This was long ago though, because the god we do experience today has is in a very different mode. His feelings is dominated by a very strong sadness within his endless love of his children, a suffering due to what they have to go through and a longing for them to return home.

His will to bring us back is so endlessly strong but he knows he has to let us take the steps by ourself or atleast ask him for the help that we do accept, because he do not feel like he has the right to force us in any way, and he allso knows that we have more use of the victories against the darkness that we do by ourselves.

When i strongest felt the precense of god, it was by no means a face that i saw, rather a cosmic shape of light and love, a conciousness with a very powerful will, a will to help his children.

By Nimalon on Friday, May 28, 2004 - 01:51 pm:

Ofcourse this was nothing but a description made by human hands, not to be held as more of a picture of God than what others could provide.

I may eventually have missunderstood parts of the experiences for being something that it wasn't intended to be by the source, as it is hard to put things in their right perspective with a human mind.

To be as correct as possible about what I did experience and what I did not - I guess it must be put togeather with the situation in which it occured..

I was resting in my bedroom alone, having thoughts about the suffering, the fear and other horrible things our souls are troubled with in life or as unincarnated spirits. It stroke me how terrible the influence of darkness can be towards us and these thoughts led me to wanting everyone who is stuck in its horror to be released from its grasp.

At this point I am sure that my thoughts met with the thoughts of God, because the intensity of the precence I felt can not be compared with anything else that I have felt the precense of within the reach of my memory. It can be compared only with what I can remember from prayers or while seraching for and inviting the contact with God.

As a responce to what could actually be understood as a prayer I clearly felt a strong force of light streaming through me, and in accordance to my will it was then directed towards those spirits who was most stuck within the fearful influence of darkness.

I clearly felt that this stream of light took effect against the heavy binding clouds of fear that it forced away and that it managed to release an amount of souls from their sufferings.

I believe that this is the strongest tool we have - the prayer. Our allmighy and caring father wishes only the best for us, and in many cases we just have to wish for eachother be helped so that God knows for sure that his helping hand has acceptance among us.

I believe that every step we take on the path of light will be strongly supported and aided by our father, and everyone who truely searches for God will reach him, but the picture of God will be as different as the people are who searches for him.

By G T on Sunday, January 07, 2007 - 08:52 am:

i can understand why He says don't make an image of Him. unless you included all that He is, the image would be lacking. something would be left out. yes, mara. He is all of everything there is as far as we know. even every atom spins by His power. and, personally, everything you need. how can you not be abstract if you attampt to describe Him (His will, my Father. His wisdom, my mother). it is better to be considering Him in everything you do and towards others, and, in that way, facet upon facet of the eternally faceted diamond that God is will come clear. every facet will have a different surface angle, maybe a different size or shape of face, but all facets will allow you to look into that unchanging brilliance eminating from the center; that light that holds all colors but is seen as white.
all description of Him will continue to be added to as each life unfolds, but it will all be describing the same thing.

your brother
gt