Quarter Awareness Examen

Earlier, we looked at the different images of God we’ve held throughout our lives. In reflecting on what our images of God are right now in our lives, it’s always important to let our understanding and articulation of our images come from our actual experiences of God. Only we can really know how we see and understand God. And only God can ultimately be the source of positive change in these images; change resulting in a more authentic image reflective of who God really is and how God really sees us.

It can often be helpful, however, to consider our images in light of the genuine images of others, especially those found in Scripture. Exploring other true images can help us to better articulate, appreciate, and embrace how God is uniquely loving us and revealing His true nature and identity to each of us. Truly, no image of God can fully describe God. God cannot be confined to an image. In this earthy life, however, images are tools to help us be in relationship with God. They help us to understand and be open to that relationship a little bit more.

The following Scriptural images may be helpful for you in this process of being in-touch with your images of God and allowing God to reveal Himself to you…

1. God as Father – Found in the story of the Prodigal Son, this image portrays God as a father who loves unconditionally and forgives. He endlessly greets you just as you are with a warm hug (Luke 15:11-32).
2. God as Mother – This image portrays God as the perfect mother whose love for her child is endless. Even if an earthly mother can abandon her child, God as mother will never abandon you (Isaiah 49:5-6, 15-16).
3. God as Shepherd – This image portrays God as a shepherd who knows his flock and the flock knows him. It portrays a God that is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. He loves each sheep so uniquely that he is willing to leave his flock to find one that is lost (Jn 10:13-16, Luke 15:4-10).
4. God as a Wise Woman (Wisdom) – The book of Wisdom portrays God as Wisdom, describing how “...in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained...good...beneficent kindly...tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing...” (Wisdom 7:23).
5. God as Friend – This image describes God as a friend who shares mutual openness together with you in a common purpose and who loves at the sake of his own life (Jn 15:11-17)
6. God as Teacher - This image describes God as a teacher who guides our lives. He knows and teaches us all that we need to be ourselves and to be with Him (Jn 14:25).
7. God as Healer or Doctor - This image describes God as the ultimate source of our healing (Mt. 9:9-13, any passage of Jesus’ healing miracles)
8. God as Lover - The Song of Songs describes the relationship and conversation between a lover and his beloved. In much the same way, God can be understood and experienced as a lover who desires and pursues His beloved (Song of Songs, esp. chapter 2)
9. God as Creator: This image describes God as the Creator of all that exists, including humanity. He is our ultimate source of life and everything that sustains our lives (Psalm 104)
10. God as the Light of Life - This image depicts God as the light that prevents us from stumbling in darkness and fear. He illuminates our hearts and lives, guiding and giving warmth to our lives (Jn 8:12, Isaiah 60)
11. God as the True Vine - This image describes how God is our ultimate source of life. Apart from Him, we cannot truly live. As a vine enables its branches to live and bear fruit, so too does God enable us to live lives of goodness and truth (Jn 15:1-10)