“The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations. Exodus 34:6-7 (NLT)”
Who is God? What is he like? What kind of God is he? Is he like a Grandfather, or is he more like a Father? Is he a tyrant, who is ready to strike us down if we do something wrong? Is He loving, good, kind? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, you are not the first. And the answers you seek can be found in reading the bible. God is unlike anything or anyone we could ever know or imagine. He is one of a kind, unique and without comparison. There are so many ways to describe God:
Creator – Genesis 1:1
Good – Matthew 19:17
Perfect – Matthew 5:34, Deuteronomy 32:4
Holy – Psalms 99:9
1 Peter 1:15-16
Love – John 3:16, 1 John 4:15-16
Never Changing – Mal 3:16, Hebrews 13:8
And these are only a few; there are many more! We can’t put God in a box!
Exodus 34:6-7 (NLT) says “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” We see here a clear picture of God’s nature. He is compassionate, full of grace and mercy, slow to anger, full of love, faithfulness and forgiveness; however, it is essential to note that he does not excuse sin however he exercises Justice and Mercy!
Can you see that this is a clear picture of who God is? A God Who is Fair and Also Forgiving! To get an even clearer picture of God, we can look to His Son Jesus, who He sent to reveal to us who the Father is! Jesus said I am the way the truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father except through me, John 14:6 (NLT). In terms of his nature, God is an exceptional father, and He wants to invite you to get to know Him better through His Son Jesus!
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending Jesus to give us a clear message of who you are and for being a God of Justice and Mercy. Amen
