July 28 - All about God

When Paul is explaining the mystery concerning the Jewish people, he knows that it would be difficult for them or anyone to understand. It is like when he puts forth an argument, there is always a counter-argument. The reason for not understanding God’s plan and will is because of man’s pride taking away the fear of God in their thinking. When one is self-absorbed, he cannot understand God’s point of view. So to bring understanding to his readers, Paul brings them to know more about God first.

The first thing they need to know about God is the dual quality of severity and kindness. The two very opposite characters are in the Person of God when He deals with us. In His severity, He would judge those who have fallen, even to cut them off eventually. However, His kindness is for those who want to continue in His kindness. God’s severity is rooted in His holiness and there is no compromise. He would not lower His standards just because of the frailty of mankind. When we realize our sinful condition and repent, His kindness would then go into operation. His heart is for everyone to repent and return to Him. He is both severe and kind.

The second set of knowledge about God is His gifting and calling. These are both irrevocable. God gives us His gifts and calls us into serving Him. Once the gift is given and the call issued, there is no turning back. God has a plan for each one of us and we are to follow His plan. Only when we are in His will would the gifting from God make sense to us. By looking at what the Lord has deposited in us, we might have some idea about His calling in our lives.

The third pool of knowledge about God is His wisdom and knowledge, both rich and vast that no human mind could ever comprehend. That is why His judgments and ways are unsearchable and inscrutable. No one could understand the mind of the Lord except He chooses to reveal it. He is the Potter and we are the clay, we have no bargaining position before the Creator. We may not understand His severity or kindness, His gifting and calling, but we know that He knows. That is enough for us.

Do you know that everything comes from the Lord? We can only do all things through Him and eventually all things go back to Him. This includes all the seen and unseen realities in this world and these realities revolve around our Lord Jesus Christ to whom all glory is due. Are you wrestling with some questions in life that you have no answers to? Are you puzzled about some things about God that you cannot understand? Have you tried to understand by reading and searching what others have written about those topics? There is a faster way: you may go to the heart of God and hear what He has to say. He is the answer to all your questions. When you are with the Lord, His wisdom and knowledge could be yours.