Your present understanding of God is incomplete and, at least in some ways, incorrect

The historical examples of those who knew God best suggest that getting to know God’s character is no easy thing. Throughout history, even those who knew God best found themselves surprised in their continued interactions with him. For example, even after spending three years with Jesus nearly every day, his disciples were constantly shocked by what he said and did. Given that those who spent so much time with God still found themselves surprised by him, your operating assumption ought to be that your idea of God is incomplete and, at least in some ways, incorrect.¹

Each person’s view of Jesus’ character is determined by their heed of what they believe about him and their diligence in learning more.² You may have an idea of what God is like, but that doesn’t meant that it is correct or complete. Like everyone else, your knowledge of God is limited in breadth, depth, accuracy, and application. As long as you lack complete knowledge of God, you stand to be surprised frequently and significantly by his thoughts, feelings, and actions, including his directions to you.

Your present perspective of Jesus’ character is not what he is really like. Your ability to perceive and replicate the character of Jesus is akin to a child’s ability to replicate a great master’s painting. Fine details are blurrily summarized, a broad color palette is mapped to a much smaller set, and many aspects are omitted completely. A child cannot reproduce a fine painting, and fallen man cannot instantly come to understand nor replicate the character of Christ.

Your understanding of God’s character at any moment is like looking down at a dark city from an airplane at night. Some areas are well lit, some are partially lit, and some are totally dark. You can’t see everything, so you have to make educated guesses about what you can’t see (the totally dark and partially dark places) based on what you can see. Your sincere idea of how and what he is will change with every step you take towards him. Though your perception of Jesus may change significantly with each step, you will see over time that it is becoming more accurate as you close the distance towards him. As you learn more about the Lord, you will marvel at his ability to guide you toward him given the abundance of your limitations and the magnitude of his perfection.⁸⁵¹