what do you call God?

Who is your God? What title do you use for him?

I had dinner with some of the people I know here at a very nice restaurant. I had to dress up and everything. We talked about the company and all that. Then our discussion turned to misconceptions about the christian faith and what christians themselves have missed about salvation. Rob asked “what does salvation mean to you?” to all of us in order to emphasize how much we miss. One person said he described to unbelievers his relationship with God as an imaginary friend who guides his life. This got me to thinking; everyone has a different conception of God. There are many facets of God, but often we focus on one aspect in our own faith. So asked the others what title they used for God. “life” “comfort”. Here is what I realized about my own answer.

For many years, I have seen God as my general, Christ as my captain, and the Holy Spirit as my trusted horse. This is all from the assumption I am a scout in a scouting party. Before you laugh, let me explain. The general sees all, his goal is to always defeat the enemy with little or no cost to his troops. But sometimes his orders seem ludicrous because the soldier cannot see the greater battle. But his job is to follow orders anyways, trusting the leaders. So that is God the general. The captain of a troop knows his scouts well; their abilities, their weaknesses, their courage. His job is to carry out the orders by using those in his command to the best of their abilities, yet trying to loose few or none of them. The captain also rides with his scouts for he is the best at it; he leads by example. That is Christ the captain. Every scout’s life depends on his trusted horse because it has better night vision, better smell, has a 6th sense about danger, and can carry its rider through the fight to safety. Also, a horse trained to fight is worth 5 fighters. A scout’s horse is not just his mount, it is his companion and life. That is the Holy Spirit the horse.

Im not saying this is wrong, merely that it is incomplete. It is only because I am learning more facets of God that I can see how I saw God. Im not sure what title im learning now, and I probably wont till im on to the next facet. Such is the clarity of hindsight.