Does God grow?

For about a month I've had this big question bouncing around in my head. Does God grow?

I have reason to believe that he has and does, but I thought I'd throw this out to the universe and ask others' opinions. Now keep in mind I am no theologist. I'm not a graduate of a fancy seminary nor do I have a PhD in anything. This is just me. A broken woman studying His word looking for answers only to find three questions for every question I had originally . . . and sometimes an answer.

The Bible I was using up until I was able to acquire my Gramma's Bible was falling apart, and Gramma's Bible is now full of a rainbow of sticky notes and notes everywhere. I absolutely LOVE reading the teachings of Jesus, but one thing that always made me kind of sad is how I tend to feel after reading parts of the Old Testament. Not gonna lie - the God of the OT is freaking intimidating. If I had run into him in the desert, I'd likely have passed out on the spot in terror and shame. When they say Fear the Lord I feel every word of that simple statement. Floods, fire falling from the sky, death of first born sons? Yeah.

Now I realize that you can interpret Biblical teachings literally or figuratively, and that helps me to not fall down daily on my face for fear that He will punish me for my Big Fat Sinnerness.

What I find interesting and encouraging, however, is the shift in tone and feel from the old to the new testament. The God of the old testament seemed authoritarian, jealous, and downright wrathful at times. And yet the new testament feels like He created a curriculum on being a human being, complete with love and peace and responsibility. This is no secret. Most people who are regular Bible readers discuss this shift, and actually, if you go online there are a lot of people who question whether the God of the OT is even the same God as the one in the New Testament. I wouldn't go THAT far, but I feel like it's safe for me to say that there is significant change in Him between the testaments.

There's a quotation I've seen floating around on Facebook. It goes like this.

Walk a mile in my shoes. See what I see. Hear with I hear. Feel what I feel. Then maybe you'll understand why I do what I do. 'Til then don't judge me. ~ Unknown

Although I'm pretty sure the the Lord isn't terribly interested in sassy Facebook memes, there is a bit of truth in these few sentences. We as Christians know that judgement is for Him, not for us, and yet well all fall into that trap when we see somebody who has no business wearing that pair of leggings and a short shirt or their T-shirt tucked in tightly with a belt. Or we sit right next to a colleague in church on Sunday who we had just seen in Facebook pictures of a drunken party with a group of friends from work Friday night - her hands raised in worship Sunday morning. Human nature is competitive, full of sin, and downright mean sometimes! Can I get an AMEN?

When God manifested himself in the form of a baby (and later a man), he made a conscious choice to see it through to the end. His Son, who was a part of himself, became human and lived life as a human in all ways - from temptations to delicious food, from disappointments to fear and pain. He experienced all of the same emotions as we have - but from a human perspective, not from the perspective of the Almightly. Not this time.

Because of this choice, As we well know, once you've experience it, you have filed that experience in the "well, that didn't work" cabinet, but you've also learned and grown - and maybe even built some connections between this experience and one in the past. And often, our outlook on life changes, ultimately causing behavior changes.

I wonder if that's what happen to God. Did he change because he was finally able to physically experience that mess we call life? It very well could be.

Namaste