Whatever faith tradition, family background, or cultural influence people are born into there is at some point an introduction to God. First impressions are important. We only get one shot at setting the tone for the job interview, the first date, or the encounter of a new beginning in a new school. We all remember those moments of first impressions. How often do we consider how God feels about his first introductions to us?

Was it a fiery God in an old wooden church back in a time of segregation? Did you meet God in the touch of goodnight prayers, stories read, and a tender kiss from a loving parent? Was God a mysterious entity in the smoke from canters, chants of Latin, and ornate rituals? Did God meet you in nature and overwhelm with creation’s majesty? Was God there in the silence of an abyss that threatened to take over your life? Did God nourish you in a good meal with delightful laughter? Was God judgmental and harsh, with rules and laws clamoring for obedience by religious leaders? Were you ever introduced to God? Was God only a religious set of rules, cultural norm, or denominational doctrine? Does God seem cruel to you and indifferent to a hurting world? Does God show favoritism to some and left others in want?

How we meet someone affects our beliefs about them. We come to believe what they project, showed, stated, and offered to us. The encounter of others, our own experiences, and our own freewill around perceptions influences how we process our experiences and beliefs.