WHAT IS GOD LIKE?

Psalms 145:15-20: “All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts. The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and saves them. The Lord guards all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.” CSB

OBSERVATION: What is God like? Is He a righteous and holy God that is unreachable? Is He a gracious and merciful God ready to meet the needs of those who call upon His name? Is He a just God who will punish the ungodly on the Day of Judgment? Our concept of God will determine our life of faith.

If God is unreachable, if He is angry with sinners, if He is disconnected from the affairs of man, we will live an isolated and lonely life walking in both fear and guilt. If God is unconcerned with our sin and is not a Just and Righteous Judge, then we will live in our sin, separated from God, with no hope of eternal life. If God is gracious and merciful, long-suffering and willing to forgive, ready to assist the weary and downtrodden, then we will live in the provision of His grace and walk in hope.

Our concept of God will determine everything in our lives!

Our concept of God must be built upon what God says about Himself and not on what we think about Him. Some see only a God of love and forget that He is also a God of righteous judgment. He is both a God of provision and a God of correction. He is merciful and long-suffering, and He will also punish those who reject Jesus Christ and choose to walk in their sins.

Yet, God is neither an austere judge nor a celestial Santa Claus. He is the Creator of all things. He is the provider of life and sustenance for all of His creation. He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. As the Psalmist writes,

“All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

Some misunderstand God’s goodness to His creation as His approval for all that man chooses to do. God’s provision for His creation does not mean that God approves of man’s sin. There is a difference between provision and acceptance. Sin separates man from a God who is “…righteous in all His ways and faithful in all His acts…” God provides for sinful man out of His loving kindness, but cannot accept sinful man apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul writes about God’s goodness and love in the book of Romans. God loved His creation so much that He was unwilling to merely provide for their needs while leaving them lost in their sin to be ultimately separated from Himself for all eternity. Although God’s provision for man and beast in their daily lives shows God’s goodness, it was His willingness to send Jesus Christ to die and pay the penalty for our sins that shows God’s love!

Romans 5:6-8: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time,  Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person, though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” CSB

God’s nature is to provide. He provides our daily bread. He provides the way of salvation. He offers daily bread to all, regardless of their sin. He offers the Bread of Life only to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ to remove their sin. We can go through life partaking of our daily bread and miss the greatest gift of all, the Bread of Life. God gave His Son so that no one would have to meet His righteous judgment. This reveals the heart and nature of a loving and righteous God!

John 6:47-51: “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” CSB

The promise of eternal life is to all who call upon the name of the Lord! To as many as receive Him, He accepts as His children and gives them the Bread of Life – forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the wonder of the nature of God. Unwilling that any should perish, He provides for all of mankind’s daily needs as He calls them to faith in His eternal provision, the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ the Lord.

“He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and saves them. The Lord guards all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.”

Father, thank You for Your daily provision for my life. Thank you for Your mercy and faithfulness, Your long-suffering and forgiveness. Open my eyes to see You and to understand the depth of Your love through the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord! Grant me the grace to give You thanks for my daily bread and to cling in faith to Your heavenly bread, the Bread of Life – Jesus Christ, my Lord!

In Jesus’ Name!