The Bible uses many images to describe God.  He is a shepherd, a father, a warrior, and even a rock.  No one image captures all there is to say about God.

It may be that the two dominating images of God in contemporary society are General God and God the lawyer.   God is called a general when he attacks injustice and oppression.  The Lord of the army comes to the rescue.  We also know God as the law giver and law enforcer which perhaps links him to the contemporary role of an attorney.  God is both a general and a lawyer.

But he is so much more.

When we elevate the military and legal nature of God above all the other images of the divine being, we end up with a skewed vision of who he is.  Those images dominate and overcome other metaphors that depict another part of his nature.    All this has huge implications.

*The current anti-theism crusade attacks a God that is all general and no shepherd, one that is all lawyer and no loving father.  The God they attack does not exist.

*Many believers wonder if they can believe in God any more.  Perhaps part of their doubt rests on a perception of God as general and lawyer.   Believers tend to look to the distorted God of contemporary culture rather than seek a more balanced portrait arising from biblical revelation.

*When we”re under attack we may be grateful for a God who can command armies.  When society turns barbaric, we can grab on to the God of order and structure.    But we must get beyond those two limited visions of God and probe deeper.  We must listen for the heartbeat of the essence of God.