When we stop and think about the majestic God who created us, and meditate on who this God is, does it fill us with an amazed sense of awe? Or, as the title of a famous book says, is our conception of God “too small”?

Nicky Gumbel gives us a pertinent illustration. There once was a child sitting at the table drawing a picture. Her mother asked her what she was doing. She replied, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” Her mother said, “Don’t be silly, no one knows what God looks like.” The child thought for a moment, then replied, “Well, they will know by the time I’ve finished!”

We do this, don’t we? We come up with our own conception of how we think God is. Although we are actually made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), we often want to try to suggest the opposite: We try to remake God in OUR own image. We futilely try to make God fit into our preconceived notions of how He “should” be.

But when we decide what God is like based on our own preconceptions, what we end up with is a “god” that is just like me. We end up with a tame god. A “god” that never disagrees with me, never challenges me to excel, never tells me that I’m wrong. But this is also a god who is “too small” … lifeless, powerless, and totally unlike the God we know from the Bible! This tame God is not the one who created you and I and the heavens and the Earth.

Even lifelong Christians can become complacent in their ideas about what God is like. For example, I have encountered God, but am I encountering God? God is greater, grander, more amazing than we will ever fully comprehend. R. C. Sproul writes that “People are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.”

The question is: Are you encountering God or admiring yourself? Have you been seeking to know who God really is? Or have you been admiring yourself in the mirror?

Can you pray along with the Psalmist, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9) and ask Him to show you a small glimpse of His greatness today as you seek to encounter Him?