It is a highly complex matter to attempt to describe by the use of Scripture what God does in our individual lives. I will try to summarize God’s disposition toward humanity – all of us – as well as refer to specific promises of God in the Bible.
As mentioned above, God is love. To God the Father, Son, and Spirit, love is not merely an attribute; it is intrinsic, defining who God is. Jesus said, As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you… Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:9, 13). This love is beyond every human concept of love. Jesus showed that it is love’s highest form and that it is self-sacrificial. God has this love for all humanity and expressed it through the self-sacrifice of Jesus (John 3:16). Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for our sins (was) not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). God wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3).
Patience and kindness are themselves attributes of love (1 Corinthians 13:4). God is patient, not hot-tempered and angry. He is kind, unlike the pagan false god Zeus, who is portrayed as poised to throw down a lightning bolt upon humankind at any infraction. Lamentations 3:21-22 poetically describes God’s love: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. It is easy to take for granted the friendly way that we are greeted every morning when we rise from sleep. The sun is shining. The sky is beautiful. The air is constant and refreshing. Jesus said, your Father in heaven… causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). Jesus was describing one who is perfect, one who has no flaw. He is so good that even the most undeserving of people are still beneficiaries of his goodness. James wrote, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). If we take the time to consider, the earth is like an incubator in the midst of the cold and violent space around it. This favorable condition is so constant that we consider anything else to be a rare exception.
Additional expressions of God’s love for all of us are in His promises to those who will trust in him. I am with you always (Matthew 28:20); I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5); God’s throne of grace… (where we) receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). God in his glory is in heaven, which is outside of space and time; nonetheless, in spirit He is intimately present with us in this earthly realm at all times (Psalm 139:7-8). He answers prayer. He helps in times of trouble. He is, as the 23rd Psalmist wrote, like a shepherd to little lambs. He is there for all their needs, generously providing, graciously guiding, present and reassuring even in the most difficult times and circumstances. The one who trusts him can confidently say, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:5).
God also is just (Deuteronomy 32:4). He hates evil. Much could be said about the future judgment, but to emphasize God’s punishments for evil overlooks His gracious disposition. If God wanted to pay humanity for its guilt, He could have done it long ago. Instead, in his love for all humanity, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ! Through him, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Ultimately, God will triumph over evil, but his intent is to win all that will accept his grace. Anyone who refuses his grace will perish. No greater mistake could ever be made. The very fact that we are free to choose even to perish ought to prove that God does not control.
In the next Blog, we will look into God’s domain where he rules and where everything is in accord with his perfect will, not by his control but willingly.