By the discovery of God, therefore, I do not mean anything mysterious, or mystical, or unattainable. I simply mean becoming acquainted with Him as one becomes acquainted with a human friend; that is, finding out what is His nature, and His character, and coming to under-stand His ways. I mean in short discovering what sort of a Being He really is--whether good or bad, whether kind or unkind, whether selfish or unselfish, whether strong or weak, whether wise or foolish, whether just or unjust. It is of course evident that everything in one's religious life depends upon the sort of God one worships. The character of the worshipper must necessarily be moulded by the character of the object worshipped. If it is a cruel and revengeful God, or a selfish and unjust God, the worshipper will be cruel, and revengeful, and selfish, and unjust, also. if it is a loving, tender, forgiving, unselfish God, the worshipper will be loving, and tender, and forgiving, and unselfish, as well.
-- Hannah Whitall Smith (author, The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life)
2 comments:
I often say that the character of a person's god says more about the person than God.
I'd have to agree, and I think Smith is implying that...
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