Each of us have been shaped by our backgrounds. Some of us grew up in church. Some of us didn’t. Some of us went for awhile but stopped because we had a bad experience or because we didn’t like what we heard. Some of us grew up in a home where God was shoved down our throats and as soon as we were old enough to shove back, we pushed away.

Without exception, all of us, in some form or fashion, define God by our own terms based on our experiences.

We can try to keep God comfortably stashed within the box of our human ideas and traditions. But sooner or later we realize God’s grace can’t be contained by our narrow ideas or even the four walls of a church. In Luke 5:27-39 Jesus breaks the mold of our human ideas of religion and spirituality by offering His friendship and radical grace to a hated IRS agent named Levi.

Sooner or later we all have to face the questions:

Am I going to continue to define God by my experiences? Or will I allow God to define Himself by His own terms?

(Presented to Hope Covenant Church – Chandler, AZ – 7/9/2006 )