Everyone has his own conception of God. It was... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

You thought that I was altogether like you.
Psalm 50:21

Everyone has his own conception of God. It was formed in the course of his life, without his ever being able to determine how exactly it came about. There is a great variety of sources for personal ideas about God: the influence of parents and relations, teachers and colleagues, books, paintings, television programmes, and, not least, one's own fantasy.

The kind of person addressed in today's verse from the psalms imagined God to be very human. People of ancient times made the same mistake: their gods were essentially no different from us human beings. That is why they thought that they could talk their gods into accepting their ideas. Paul had to make it clear to the Athenians that God the Creator had no human needs and was not dependent on human beings (cf. Matthew 6:7; Acts 17:24.25).

Let us therefore ask ourselves here and now: "Does my conception of God correspond to reality, or is God totally different? Where did I get my views from? And can I really establish a sensible, reliable plan for living and dying on them?

In the first place, sin is like an insurmountable wall between God and man. Sin invariably falsifies our image of God. So we need someone to tell us precisely who God is, what He is like, how He regards us and what He expects of us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God is that Mediator. His message is in the Bible. What does it mean to us?

Today's reading: Exodus 7:1-13 · Luke 2:36-40