"Spiritual growth is the willing surrender of images in favor of the True Images. It is a conversion that never stops, a surrender that never ceases. It is a surrender of self-serving and self-created images of self, of others, of God. Those who worship the images instead of living the reality simply stop growing spiritually. In this light the First Commandment takes on a whole new power and poignancy."(R. Rohr "Radical Grace" p. 167)
Sometimes I surprise myself. I will say and believe things about myself that are not true. Granted I tend to frame a lot of me in the negative. I'm working on that because while I'm not saying I'm perfect or complete, I'm probably not as flawed as I think.
I find it also to be true that it is sometimes easier to hold onto images of people as they were back in high school, college or even just a few years ago. True some people never change. But when they do I may have to let go of the person they were and decide whether I can embrace the new person.
It is also true of God. If my image of God never grows beyond the pictures from my children's Bible. Or never grows beyond what I learned in 1st grade, then I will ultimately be disappointed. True God may be changeless, but how I perceive God changes all the time. How I relate to God should also be somewhat flexible.
But boy are images or idols if you will tough to let go of. Primarily because they're so easy to relate to. They don't talk back, they don't challenge, they don't demand anything of you. Which is why they need to be treated as dead.
Blessings,
Ed
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