He’s creeping about with a giant sword lifted over his head, at any moment the heavy blade will come down and destroy his target.  This was the vision that Dwight Moody conveyed regarding God.  A vengeful and capricious God who stalks the halls of eternity seeking whom he might devour.   Of course, this was before Moody became aware of what the Bible actually says about God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Once Moody saw who God really was, all things changed including his heart – he repented and became one of modern Christianity’s greatest voices.

I was reading through Psalm 139, Romans 5:8 and even bits of 1 John 4 and pondering the character of God.  Allowing Him (via the Bible) to speak for Himself, I saw the comic book, dashboard Jesus and pop caricature of who God is melt away.  It melted away to reveal a holy God Who does hold mankind accountable for their actions and choice, but also in balance a God of incredible love and compassion Who proactively gave His only Son to redeem me from my sin and draw me to Himself.

I sat with a young woman today who kept defaulting to a harsh, brutal and dispassionate God even in the face of Scripture.  How hard it is to accept God for Who He is and not for Who we want or expect Him to be.  It took time for her eyes to adjust to grace.  Life with all its kicks, punches and let downs had conditioned her to see no one with unconditional love – inconceivable.  Together, we asked God to speak for Himself – to show us His love, compassion, grace and mercy.  No strings attached.  It began with “God so loved the world that He gave…”