WHO IS GOD?
I personally believe that most people have a huge misconception of who God is.
Why do I say so?
Well because if we truly know who God is and his nature then we will never run from Him but rather towards Him, no matter the circumstances, who we are or what we have done. There will be a stronger desire to seek him more because of who he is and not just based on what he can give us. We would want to continually build and strengthen our relationship with him. However this is not often the case, especially among the more youthful ones. There is a notion that maintaining a relationship with God should be reserved for when we get older. We tend to keep a distance from God by not wanting to read our bibles or go to church.
I once had this mindset due to my flawed understanding of who God was. I thought God was this big scary guy in the sky who condemned me and this caused me to keep a distance from him. However, when my knowledge of God started to widen, I found myself wanting to know him more and more. So who exactly is God? Well to me, God is everything.
John 1:3 says that ‘through him all things have been made; without him nothing was made that has been made.’ He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.’ (Rev 22:13). The heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool (Isaiah 66:1). He is far too BIG for us but as we draw nearer to him we encounter some of his specific attributes like his love and faithfulness.
LOVE
If I could sum God up in one word, it would be LOVE. The world’s view on love is that it is often mutual. We tend to only love people who love us back. However, this is not how God loves, for his love is unconditional IE not contingent on any conditions
God doesn’t love us based on anything we do or don’t do. He does not love us based on how much we love him in return. He simply just loves us and this love is unwavering no matter who we are or what we have done.
Unlike humans, God does not just say he loves us but he shows and proves daily. Our very existence is due to his love. The biggest act of love that God has shown towards humanity is explained in John 3:16 ‘For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.’
To paint a picture of how deep this love is, imagine you were a policeman and you caught a bunch of criminals that have committed several offences. Being in a position of authority, you cannot ignore this and hence have to prosecute them. It should bring you great joy that they suffer for the wrong they did but there is another option of you covering up for them and saving them possible jail time. Strangely enough you choose the second option and to everyone this is ridiculous. However, you did it out of love and compassion for the criminals. I’m sure the big question is why do you love a bunch of criminals? And the simple answer is you don’t have a reason, you just do. In a sense, that is how God’s love is for us. Based on what we have done and what we do, we don’t deserve it yet he showers us with it continuously.
FAITHFULNESS
Numbers 23:19 states that God is not a man the he would lie and every word he has declared shall be fulfilled. In a world where people often make promises and sometimes do not fulfil them, having a God that you can always rely on is a blessing. In the bible there are so many areas that depicts God’s faithfulness. One perfect example is the parable of the wheat and tares (Mathew 13:24-30). In this parable we can see that God is so confident in the wheat (his children) he has planted on earth that even when the enemy plants tares amongst them, he asks the servant not to uproot it. For he is certain that the tares would not stop the wheat (his children) from growing. God’s faithfulness ensures that the plans he has for us shall always prevail and knowledge of this is key, especially in a world that is so inconsistent.
God’s faithfulness is one I have personally encountered numerous times in my life. In areas were I am incapable I lean on his faithfulness to see me through. When I fall, I lean on his faithfulness to pick me up. Verses such as 2 Corinthians 12:9 ‘My grace is sufficient for you and my power is made perfect in your weakness’ and Philippians 1:6 ‘being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’ and parables like the above tell us that we can trust this great God who never fails.
It is impossible to write all the many things God is to me and to humanity. From his peace, joy, patience and kindness to his ability to be a Father, friend and lover, from him being the omnipotent, to the omniscient and the omnipresent, God is simply indescribable.