It is interesting to listen in on conversations where people are discussing their opinions about God. Whether a Christian or not, most people have their own thoughts about the character of God. Even more interesting is to see how this image of God is often changed in their mind when very stressful or times of crisis arise. More and more Americans are professing that there is no God until a national crisis comes like 9/11 and then suddenly everyone is praying to God to protect the nation and comfort the families who have loss.
When I was teaching English in China, I found it intriguing that the very students who professed to be atheists were saying a prayer to God to help them with their entrance exam for Graduate school! Romans 1:20 tells us that everyone inherently knows deep in their soul that there is a Creator God.
We can each have our ideas about our Creator, but more importantly, what does He have to say about Himself? Though God was involved in a direct, intimate relationship with mankind from the be- ginning (He walked in the garden with Adam), it was not until the days of Moses that He actually gave a personal description of Himself. So let’s see what are God’s first words about Himself. “Then The Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.’” (Exodus 34:5-7).
Everything about this passage is amazing. First, it is kind and merciful of God to bring us out of the dark and let us know in detail His beautiful character and how He relates to us. We don’t need to won- der or project the possibilities of who God is or how He feels about us. For those who are His children (see John 1:12), He is compassionate and full of grace. He forgives our sin and rebellion. His love is abounding! Don’t you love that word “abounding?” This is descriptive of a love that is OVER THE TOP! It goes on and on and never stops. It is exceptional and abundant. This is the love the Father has for you!
-Sue Corl (Founder of COBI, read more in her devotional More Beautiful by the Day)
This gives me hope that deep inside everyone even atheists in China that there is a human understanding that God is there and is compassionate and loving. I also like reading your description of God describing himself. Who are we to argue with that!!