Although I am aware that Deuteronomy 6:4 is talking about the fact that there is only one true God, it gets me thinking about how often I treat God as if He is several beings. Let me explain… When I pray, I think about God’s love. When I feel guilty, I think about God’s holiness. When I worry about the future, I am NOT thinking about God’s power.
It isn’t unusual for us to feel especially close to one of God’s attributes during a time of great need. Yet, we have to be careful that we don’t make that attribute the only way that we think about God. It can be tempting to only see God in that single way. We see Him as loving when we need love. When we want justice, we emphasize His holiness. Yet, does God’s love ever come to us without His holiness? Does His holiness ever act apart from His love?
Perhaps it is easier for us to think of God in simplistic terms. It makes us feel safe. But that’s not really God, is it? He loves when He expresses His holiness. He establishes holiness as He is expressing His love. God is unified in His being. He is not inconsistent. He is always Himself.
Would we really want it any other way? If God wasn’t always Himself, wouldn’t that make Him capricious? Wouldn’t He then be moody or untrustworthy? Wouldn’t He then be like us? What kind of God is that? That is a God who changes on a whim. That’s not the God of the Bible. Nor is it the God we would want. We wouldn’t want a God who turns on and off His attributes.
Consider this… how wondrous is it to know that God is always God? He doesn’t change. He doesn’t lie. He is who He says He is. Doesn’t this give us a point of reference? Doesn’t this give us a point to interpret and understand our life? Doesn’t this give us confidence to face uncertainty and an understanding of the life we live? We may not realize it, but all of life is based upon who we think God is. We make moral decisions based upon that fact. We determine if our past decisions were right or wrong based upon that fact. We face the future with confidence based upon how we understand God.
Seeing God as wavering or inconsistent is going to change how we interpret our life. Essentially, we will see God as untrustworthy. How can faith grow in that type of environment? How can faith be strong if the object of our faith cannot be depended on? My encouragement – build your faith and understanding of God upon the reality that God doesn’t merely feel or have His attributes. He is His attributes. He is love, holiness, power, and the rest all of the time. It may not give easy simple answers to the problems of life. But it will give dependable ones. God’s consistent character will call you to trust Him. It has always been how the faithful people of God have built their trust. It will help us face our life everyday.
Something to think about,
Pastor John
Leave a Reply