Our own conception of God

 
 Newcomers to Program are told that when we talk about
God, we mean "God as we understand God."
But there has always been a problem with this little formula. The problem is simply this: We don't understand God. And -- when we begin the daily practice of the last three Steps -- we come to see that we never will.
Interestingly, according to Bill's story in the AA Big Book, this was not the original expression used by Ebby, the man who brought sobriety to Bill himself. Instead, Ebby said to the doubting Bill, "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"
Our own conception of God. That's what works for us in Program. Any conception of God will work -- as long as it is not our own will, our selfish nature, our ego.