Good Morning.
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
As we discussed yesterday, the way God is perceived by some compared to how He really is — and has always been — can oftentimes be worlds apart. So many unknowing and uninterested people are quick to define the Almighty has a vengeful and unsympathetic being who relishes the misery of mankind. Of course, we who know Him realize that this is not true but merely a “convenient truth” fostered by those who don’t want to serve Him.
As far as those who do wish to serve Him we must acknowledge the importance of emulating His attributes and characteristics. It is very important that we not only know and share what His Word says, but we must be a faithful representative of who He is. In other words, we too, should be merciful, kind and long suffering. If we are disciples and ambassadors of the Messiah, it is incumbent upon us to be as He is — to act in a manner that brings honor to Him Name and not shame.
This raises the issue, then, of how we are perceived by the world — how do they see us? Do they see us as hateful, judgmental and harsh or do they see us as merciful, gracious and long suffering? Do we, by our attitudes and actions, give them ammunition to use against us or do we provoke them to see our Father in a different light? May it be that today and every day, every person we encounter is positively impacted and left with the impression that the God we serve is good — all the time!
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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