I’ve often heard the God of the Bible described as a jealous, merciless and wrathful God. But have you ever considered that the Bible teaches that the creator of the universe is humble?
God has been accused of being selfish, uncaring, jealous and downright angry. I believe these accusations flow from people who wish to justify their rejection of Him; they cite passages from the Old Testament out of context, ignore others, and try to prosecute God according to what is culturally acceptable by our modern US society.
What does the Bible really say about God? I cannot possibly include everything in one post, but let’s talk about a couple broad aspects to God’s character. What is often considered jealousy in today’s society is the insecure and controlling feelings that arise when someone else is getting what you believe you deserve. When God says he is a jealous God what does that mean? Doesn’t it just feel right when credit goes where credit is due? Shouldn’t the one who created the universe and everyone in it be righteously indignant when his creation purposely rejects the one who loves and provides all things in favor of undeserving, hopeless objects? This arouses God’s righteous jealousy for our hearts.
God’s wrath? We were never meant to endure God’s wrath. He created us to have fellowship with Him, but gave us the choice to do so (back in the Garden and even now). We chose to follow after our own ways and reject His supremacy and desire for us. Our lot is now in with Satan, the one we chose to join and the one for whom God’s wrath is reserved for. But there is hope; God wants to redeem us back to Him. But God wants a certain person, one who has a humble heart and acknowledges their insufficiency without Him.
Haven’t you noticed that people tend to admire famous, wealthy or highly skilled (ie pro athletes, rock stars) people that have a humble tone, don’t boast or expect special treatment, and/or choose to help other people with the surplus they have been given. People like this are admired far more than the ones that don’t think the law applies to them, brag about their ability, or treat others as lesser than them. True humility and selflessness are ideals that are valued universally in human hearts.
John 1 tells us that Jesus being in every way God, created the entire universe. Most people “don’t have a problem with Jesus”. They say he was a good teacher, a good person, even a hippie. But do people really consider that Jesus told us (even insisted) that he is God? Jesus being God is an unveiling of an often ignored aspect of who God truly is! Jesus entered into His world in humility. Literally born in a barn, Jesus was born into a family that was likely condemned for Him being born outside of wedlock. He and his family were refugees to Egypt for years. During Jesus’s ministry he didn’t even have a place to call home, but instead went from place to place to seek and save the lost. He endured the same temptation that he expects us to endure. He took on the same broken and mortal body that we wear. He went hungry; he felt pain, physical and emotional. He, the humble King, came to serve us.
Mark
10:45
New International Version (NIV)
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus broke social norms by associating with the “sinners”, the down and out, the prostitutes. He broke cultural and racial rules by reaching out across ethnic bounds to those in need. He openly opposed the religious leaders of his day that were prideful, hypocritical, and unloving toward those in need. Read the gospels (again, even) and just see who God in Jesus is!
What Should We Do?
Salvation comes by grace (a free gift) through faith in Jesus to those who acknowledge their sin and insufficiency without Jesus. Faith that He died, was buried and rose again, defeating death once and for all for those who follow Him. How do we follow Him? By seeing what he did and emulating it! Read this awesome (somewhat frightening) passage about Jesus’ return:
Matthew
25
(NIV)34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Now, we can never earn our way to heaven. Salvation comes as a gift to the repentant heart that clings to Jesus as their only hope for being transformed. But once we are forgiven and saved, true heart change takes place. Consider this passage:
Matthew
18:
(NIV)21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Our humble, merciful God expects us to follow His example and be humble and merciful servants for others. Shouldn’t that be a believer’s natural response? If that isn’t our response then we are nothing more than hypocrites! What is more attractive in a person than true love, humility and selflessness? What is a bigger turnoff to others than judgmental hypocrisy? The humble and merciful aspects of God’s character should be apparent in a true Christian’s life, testifying to who God is and what He has done for us.
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