Article June 19, 2006 Issue

The GOD of your LIFE

GAIL GILLILAND

I love to collect names for God. My list includes names for the divine Creator that would probably be familiar to many people. Names from the Bible like "the Lord God Almighty" hint at His unlimited power. Names like "Shepherd" speak of His loving guidance. God is also referred to in some places as a "rock," suggesting the strength and stability of His care for His creation.

I've also enjoyed getting to know God as certain Biblical characters saw Him—people whose stories I've pondered in relation to my own life. For instance, I've given a lot of thought to "the God of Abraham," father of the Hebrew people. In reading Abraham's story in the book of Genesis, I've seen that this God, whom I know as divine Love, is the Parent of all. So He must also have been the God of Abraham's wife, Sarah, and of their beloved son, Isaac, and even of Abraham's concubine, Hagar.

At first I was tempted to feel sorry for Hagar. Sarah insisted that she and her son, Ishmael, be banished, because Sarah feared Ishmael would compete with Isaac for their father's attention. But the God of one is the God of all. And even if Abraham did have a favorite, I reasoned, the Lord God Almighty wouldn't choose favorites.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Remembering FATHER'S DAY