God is….
During college, I worked at a jewelry store in a local mall. So, I learned the cuts and fascinating facets of diamonds and other gems.
The multi-faceted parts of these stones make each one brilliant and stunning.
“Facets, those ‘geometrically arranged, flat surfaces’ that cover faceted gemstones, all play specific roles in a gem’s optical performance. When expertly cut, facets not only create beautiful patterns on the gem, they also help it shine. Sometimes, literally. Different types of gemstone facets have specific names, too.” (International Gem Society)
In the same way, God bears various characteristics as God. But we often only focus on the feel-good parts of God’s character. Like how God is good and loving, but not how He is also holy and just.
Yet, all the attributes of God working together are what make Him God. Each fascinating facet of the Almighty makes His glory brilliant and stunning.
Because when we separate His goodness from His holiness or His love from His justice, we lose the full nature God.
In essence, we detach who He is from what He does. But the two are the same.
Good and loving and merciful and just are not only who the Lord is, but also what He does!
So, in this two-part series, we look at eight characteristics of God, four this month and four next month. Still, my list’s non-exhaustive—God’s character bears a multitude of wondrous facets.
Believers really celebrate these first four attributes by marking them with a neon highlighter.
God is good.
Since the beginning of time, God’s goodness is weaved throughout the chapters of His-story. It started with creation when He saw everything He made was good.
Goodness is seen when God rescued His people. It’s revealed in Bethlehem’s stable and narrated in Jesus’ ministry. It’s told at the foot of a bloody cross and reported as a victor in an empty tomb.
Now, we see His goodness in our lives through every blessing and promise of Scripture. We are living testimonies to God’s goodness.
“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” Psalm 27:13 (ESV)
God is good and does good. (Psalm 119:68)
God’s kind.
I like the adage, “Kindness goes a long way!” And this definition for a person who’s kind: Sympathetic, friendly, gentle, tenderhearted, generous. (YourDictionary)
But God’s not bound by our human definitions and limitations. Kindness started with Him, and He surpasses it all!
The Lord’s lovingkindness is breath in our lungs and grace in our hearts. God’s kindness is eternal and abundant life. Further, God extends kindness to us in provision and care.
Because God’s kind…
“Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:5-6 (ESV)
God is loving.
1 John 4:8 tells us God is love. John 3:16 states how God so loved the world, He gave His only Son. And “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV emphasis added)
Because the heavenly Father lavished His great love on us, we are called the children of God. (1 John 3:1)
Finally, Psalm 136:26 reminds us how God’s love endures forever! Maybe people stop loving us or fail to fully love us. But not God.
The Lord is love and loving is what He does.
Read, Good News and God News About Love.
God’s merciful.
Although we describe merciful people as compassionate and forgiving, God’s mercy far exceeds human efforts.
The Lord’s mercy took pity on us and offered Christ as the final sacrifice for our sins. He continues to grant us forgiveness for sin, patience for losing our way, and compassion for our pain and suffering.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Who and What
Good, kind, loving, and merciful are who God is and what He does.
Do you see each attribute of God as important to His full character?
Featured Photo by Anna Kolosyuk on Unsplash.
Top Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash.
Middle Photo by Steven Van Loy on Unsplash.
Bottom Photo by Olivia Bauso on Unsplash.
Pinned!
My verse of there year Psalm 27:13
I didn’t know that, Mandy. Wonderful verse for 2021. Thanks for sharing!
Yes!
(And I wrote a one-year devotional on this very subject!)
🙂
Wow, Ava. Amazing. I’ll have to check that out over at your website to see about getting a copy.
I love this message. We can’t pick and choose the attributes we want to be true about God and ignore that He is just and holy.
Yes, it’s so easy to shout out those messages about God’s love and goodness. All true about Him. But we forget holiness and justice also make Him God.
Amen. Beautiful.
God is good and does good. (Psalm 119:68) God bless, Melissa.
I had not thought about it, but we do need to consider all facets of God to truly appreciate His beauty.
Thanks for commenting, Yvonne. It’s like we forget all the parts of God that make Him God.
I love seeing attributes of God compiled all in one place. This allows us to see him more clearly and to be astonished by the attributes we examine, for he is so much more than we could ever hope or think or imagine.
So true, Melinda. The glorious God we know and love.
Love this. God is kind and just, holy and loving… so many facets!!
Thanks, Jessica. The all-encompassing character of God is glorious and complete!
Under this argument, any religion that does endure has to offer its adherents tangible benefits. Christianity, for example, was just one of many religious movements that came and mostly went during the course of the Roman Empire. According to Wood, it was set apart by its ethos of caring for the sick – meaning more Christians survived outbreaks of disease than pagan Romans. Islam, too, initially attracted followers by emphasising honour, humility and charity – qualities which were not endemic in turbulent h-Century Arabia. ( Given this, we might expect the form that religion takes to follow the function it plays in a particular society – or as Voltaire might have put it, that different societies will invent the particular gods they need. Conversely, we might expect similar societies to have similar religions, even if they have developed in isolation. And there is some evidence for that – although when it comes to religion, there are always exceptions to any rule.