Facets of God’s Nature
Before Hilary and I were engaged, I began the journey of shopping for a ring. I’d been in jewelry stores before with my parents, but I’d never known the depth and details behind choosing a diamond. Needless to say, the salesperson was happy to coach me up in hopes of guiding me to choose the most expensive and most perfect diamond in the store. While I learned a lot, I ended up choosing the nicest set I could afford; and based on Hilary’s response to my bent knee and over 25 years of marriage, I must have picked the right one.
What I learned from that shopping experience was the facets, color, grading of a diamond impact what I see and it would change colors based on light and perspective. It was the same diamond but could look blue, purple, yellow, and more depending on the light. God is similar. We must be careful when we discover an earthly object that reminds us of God to consider what it teaches while recognizing its limitations. There is not a perfect image to fully teach us about God. However, a diamond does help us see the many facets of His nature that give perspective to the depth of His unsearchable nature.
Often we love to consider His love and grace yet choose to ignore His wrath and justice. The reality is I appreciate His mercy in view of His wrath. The Jewish people daily and routinely kept Deuteronomy 6:4-5 in their prayer and recitation. The healthy reminders of His singularity, simplicity, and sovereignty should move us to deeper waters of trust and faithfulness.
Furthermore, Deuteronomy 6:5 leads us to respond in love that is fully submitted to His lordship and control. While it would seem natural, we often resist full submission in response to His grace and goodness. The reality of our brokenness raises its ugly head as we wrestle the flesh versus the spirit. Rather than beating our heads against the wall, perhaps we can learn to show ourselves grace similar to the grace He has already given us.
Be reminded today of His love and depth for you and the extent of His action that is faithful, sovereign. You are never alone. You are always promised His presence. While we naturally want to pivot all things for our best interest and needs, we should rest in the understanding that He is good and He is faithful. The more we understand the better we recognize our role and place. He is all we need. Moreso, He is all.
To dive deeper into study on the nature and attributes of God consider the following resources:
Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and Calvary’s Statement of Faith
Lois Berkhof’s Systematic Theology
