Human words cannot even begin to describe the wonders of our Almighty God. The description of Him in the Christian Bible is as explicit as possible, but there is much more we would like to know about Him. Hopefully this post will reveal Him and His Son Jesus Christ in a clearer manner.
Let us examine His attributes. His love for humanity is His greatest attribute; from that love springs all his other qualities. His grace has been a subject of inquiries by many writers. The question I ask is this: How can such a complex and Almighty God lower Himself and communicate with imperfect humans?
I will be delving into an area that surpasses human knowledge. In Ephesians 3:18-19, the apostle Paul attempts to describe God’s/Christ’s love for humanity.
Even though the majority of humans will be/are destined to perish, God never desires/desired for any of them to be separated from Him. Yes, God even loved/loves all those fowl, ungodly people. But as His love dictates, without love as their main focus in life, His hands are tied, so to speak: It would be utterly impossible to allow them to enter a realm where Divine love is supreme. It is fair to say that His heart has been broken over the loss of billions of people who were created in His image.
Let us examine some of the attributes that make our God the type of wonderful God we truly need. The love He has for all humanity can never be fully expressed in human terms. Nevertheless, let us do the best we can with what He has thus far been able to reveal.
All His many holy qualities are the result of His love for humanity. Let us start with God being a just God. At the judgment, as we are being judged to determine whether we are qualified to enter heaven, every thought and action we have ever had/done will be brought out into the open. He will examine our environment/country, which was a big factor in how we lived: our mentality, to see if we understood the seriousness of living or not living, as He requires. He will also examine whether we had the opportunity to know what His laws were concerning people in countries where the name “Jesus” is not known; and He will look into things that helped us form our decisions and the people who influenced the decisions we made.
The most important thing He will examine is all our motives that made us tick. In fact, our motives are as important as our actions, if not more important. But in all things, He will always give us the benefit of the doubt, if a doubt does occur. As a skilled lawyer for the defense, God our Father will accentuate our good points and downplay the negative ones. As God, Jesus or his holy ones are judging us, the fairness that will be shown to us is beyond human comprehension. The reason for that fairness is that His mercy and compassion will always be applied in every decision even though they cannot purposely violate His holy standards.
Grace will be a big factor in the judgment. Grace, also called undeserved kindness, will cancel many wrongs we have done, though it cannot override a set pattern of arrogance. Throughout this judgment period, God truly wants us to make the grade and thus get to be with Him—a father always desires the very best for His children. None of the decisions made by the Judge will be biased.
The reason God is so wonderful is because He will is going to go to all lengths to get us to be with Him. Hell is an awful place, to say the least, and He will do everything in His power to keep us out of there. And still, the faith and love a person had in how he/she lived will be the factor that will determine the outcome. And in every case, that love stems from having faith in Jesus Christ. If that faith is real and lasting, love that springs from obedience to all Jesus commands will be the final result.
Of course, the genuineness of repentance will also be a big factor. We all have stumbled and done wrong. Therefore, all who make the grade must have had true repentance on their side—with hope and determination so that transgression will never occur again. And still, there is no rigid standard as to how many times a person can repent. But one good thing is that God knows the heart, and if leniency is required, it will be waiting for all who deserve it. That is the reason God is so wonderful. Since we know that, we must never take advantage of the wonder of God. God will do everything in His power to get us into heaven without breaking any of His holy rules. While we are here on this earth, we must also do everything in our power to do the same. During this time, Satan the devil will be there at the judgment making all forms of unfair accusations. Revelation 12:10. “. . . For the accuser of our brothers [Satan], who accuse them before our God day and night, had been hurled down.”
God, more than anyone else, knows how difficult it has been to live and do what is right in His eyes. And don’t think God won’t take that into consideration. It is not easy to go against the flow that this godless world is taking. And still, those who are devoted to what is right (genuine love for all) will somehow (with God’s help) walk the straight and narrow. Actually, our human love will be converted by the Holy Spirit into Divine love. 2nd Peter 2:4."Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
I don’t often write on issues not mentioned in the NT, but I will bring up a subject that could be a result of God’s Divine love. There have been people who have never had the opportunity to know the name of Jesus in cultures/religions that were/are not Christian. Some of these people may have had a love that equals Christian love. By His mercy, God could retroactively, as it were, give these people a chance to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior; it is not great love alone that gives salvation, but belief in the saving power of God through Jesus Christ from which that divine love springs.
One action God will not tolerate is purposely committing sins with this thought in mind: “I will sin and then just repent; I know that God will forgive me.” Of course, if it is only one occasion or two, no problem. But if it is a pattern that continues, this action will be held against anyone.
Two of the Lord’s pet peeves are laziness and mediocrity in spiritual matters. How He will respond to these is unsure, but if done over a lifetime, the judgment is almost certain. In fact, it may cancel all the good one has done. The reason I bring this up is because there are seven verses in the New Testament (NT) commanding us to make every effort in how we live our holy lives—if anyone desires the location of those verses, leave me a comment or e-mail me. These are serious verses that one may never hear from the pulpit. That is only one reason the Christian walk is not a cakewalk. If His mercy and compassion will negate this serious “neglect of duty,” it depends on the seriousness of one’s Christian history.
Laziness is a detrimental habit to have in worldly affairs, but especially in spiritual matters. Laziness is a human trait that, if not overcome, will overcome anyone addicted to it. God may be stern in these last two matters, but how His love, compassion and mercy will intercede will depend on many other circumstances. Again, it all depends on whether one’s good works were many, and where one’s heart was in this situation. Remember: Where the heart is, most often, the life will follow. There will be no mistakes made in any Divine judgments.
No two lives will be even close to each other. Therefore, the judgment process will be as lengthy and complex as anything can be. But rest assured that everyone can speak up and defend themselves. But the best part of the judgment, and I am repeating myself, is that everyone will be treated with the utmost fairness, regardless of Satan’s accusations. In fact, the ones being judged will agree with his own judgment, although she/he will not like the outcome if the frying pan is the verdict.
The best advice I can give to everyone who claims to be a Christian is to make sure you are doing your best in all spiritual matters, which will confirm your faith in Christ Jesus, as will obedience to all His commands. To help any serious Christian on the road to obedience, I recommend reading John chapters 14 and 15, then reading them again and again, and even memorizing them.
One of the most wonderful parts of the Christian life, which many never give a second thought to, is that all genuine Christians have God Almighty as a Father. Think of it this way: God the Father, through His Holy Spirit, means you personally belong to Him and He personally belongs to you. Can you imagine that God Almighty who built the universe belongs to you and me? All of God’s attention is now directed to you (plural) only, through His Holy Spirit, who now, with your permission, is in control. This last statement pertains to every person who is possessed by the Spirit and thus is a Christian. Romans 8:9. “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” That is why everyone would call our heavenly Father a wonderful, wonderful God. To get more information on your personal God, click on Post # 82: “Your Own Personal God.”
In conclusion, as much as a human father loves his children, God loves His children immeasurably more, even if on occasion the children may inadvertently disappoint the Father. That is only one reason why we have such a wonderful, wonderful God, who desires only the best for His children. God is on your side and mine. Let us make certain that we are on His side!
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