Isaiah 30:18 (NIV) Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Most people in the world have a very distorted view of God. They see Him as either mean, scary, unfair, mostly always angry or unreasonable. None of those things are even close to being true regarding the God of our salvation. But unfortunately, many Christians don’t have it right either. While they may not think the things just mentioned, many don’t seem to know how good He really is. Many forget that Jesus, who was God in the flesh, came to help us see who He really is and how He really is. It was Jesus who said, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29).” Many Christians don’t know that He is not only gracious to us, but that He longs to show us that grace.

The passage of scripture above explains the confusion that many have about God. He is a God who the Bible says longs to be gracious to you. He wants to help you and bless you. He wants to have mercy on you and He demonstrates His mercy every day by not sending fire and brimstone to destroy everyone who resists Him or even curses Him. He waits for people, even the ones who hate Him, to turn to Him. He is kind, patient and compassionate, much more than anyone on this earth is. But He is also a holy God and a God of justice. He judges right and wrong. But when you mix the fact that He is a God of justice with the fact that He is also a God of great compassion who longs to be gracious, then you understand why He came to save the people that He created, which He happens to love. Jesus came to save us by taking our place and paying the penalty of our sin, which is death along with God’s wrath because He is a God of justice and sin must be atoned for. He didn’t send an angel to do it because an angel wouldn’t suffice. The only one who was prefect and good with no fault who would be worthy to be the sacrifice for the sins of the entire world was Himself and He came willingly and with much love and compassion.

Pray to understand this great love that was exhibited in the life of Jesus so that you can correct the greatly distorted view that many have of our Savior and Lord. The way to understand Him better is to get to know Him better. You get to know Him better by spending time with Him in prayer and in His Word and by asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, who will reveal the love of God to you. Then you will be a witness to others of His amazing grace that has been poured out on us and of the inheritance that we have waiting for us when our days on this earth are done with. He longs for everyone to experience the indescribable gift of His grace.

Pastor Joey Vazquez