There are different kinds of focuses that one can have on God which are sometimes associated with genera of churches, charismatic and Calvinist, non-denominational and orthodox. Generally they are viewed in opposition to one another, or at least on two ends of a scale. In truth I believe they do not conflict, but are simply different aspects of God, taken from different angles. I DON'T mean different viewpoints like relative-truth or even seeing different perspectives using empathy. I mean different angles like a marker (cylinder) is either a circle or a rectangle, depending on what dimension you're looking at.
I will solve this dichotomy twice, first starting from one side and moving to the other, and second going in reverse.
First of all there is the focus on the holiness of God. God is magnificent, huge, awesome, mighty, and holy. Psalm 29:8-10 tells of the voice of the Lord "The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever." Though we may think of him as a kind healer, Jesus also has these properties. Hebrews 1:2-3 says "...his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." And Colossians 1:15-16 describes him this way: "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
This viewpoint is completely true. But sometimes we only focus on this side and completely miss the fact that God is also merciful, loving, and is the author of beauty. Jesus is to be our bridegroom. God took all his masterful holiness and concentrated it in his romance, his love for us. Jesus is the wonderful, jealous prince, dangerous but good, filled with peace and place for us to rest our sorrows. His love burns for us in holy fire. God, in Jesus, in his holiness, has set apart a people for himself. The Lord, from his position of strength, because he is strong, can be gentle, can lay his passion for us bare, can risk being intimate with us.
Beloved of God, is this not GLORIOUS!? Fall on your face and weep with joy at the king who loves us! The lord is delighted in you. Come, enter his courts, his shining, light-filled courts with praise! See the thousand wonders at his right hand, sit at his right hand and create the world with him.
Now, gearing back down. From the other side:
God is loving, Jesus is merciful. He cares for us on a very deep level. He weeps for us. Isaiah 65 begins in this way "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations— a people who continually provoke me to my very face." And hear the words of Jesus from Matthew 23:37 "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."
While on earth Jesus performed many many miracles, most of them healings. He spent time with the sinners, just to reach out to them. Comfort is strewn all across the psalms. And God himself, in Jesus, humbled himself to the form of a man in order to die for us, take our shame and guilt. Is this not a sacrificing savior?
But sometimes we concentrate too much on Gods mercy, too much on his care, and forget that love is not always comfortable. God does not just want to pardon us. For what gift is it to save the fool from the lash if one does not also give him wisdom? God does not just love us softly, he loves us righteously. He would be shortchanging us if he didn't call us to something higher, to righteousness. My friends, Jesus did not just die for us, he rose into a miraculous, glorious body so that we may not only die with him, but rise with him to righteousness also! (try Colossians 3) The lord is perfecting us, purifying us, making us worthy of his presence, forming man out of dust and into a living, glorious, son of God! Jesus has not only reached down into the dust to save us but has washed us clean with the waters of life and has whisked us off into a magnificent palace of holiness. Can I hear an amen? Yes! Yes! Yes! Whahoo!
So we cannot focus on just one or the other, Gods holiness or his gentleness, for just one gives us an incomplete picture. Combining them brings so much more wonder. Wherever you are, reach into the other side, and see what transformation it brings.
Further thoughts:
First of all, these two sides may possibly correlate to typical male/female perspectives. I love the first one a whole lot more, I think, because it's more of Gods male side, perhaps. I don't know.
Second, these kinds of dualities appear everywhere. We have free will and God controls everything, Jesus is both God and man, we're both righteous before God but still sinful, etc. I bet someone else could come up with a better list.
This makes me think of a creative thinking class I had recently. In it we learned about a theory on creativity which posited that creative people occupy both extremes of most character traits. For instance, a creative person is always either very busy or very at rest, never in between. This is the url for an article describing these 10 variables. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199607/the-creative-personality Whatever the case, we could argue that God, with all his dichotomies, is then very creative. I like this idea. :)
That's all for now. God's awesome. Tata!
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