How would you describe God? I suppose to some he is a distant deity in the sky, while to others he is one's personal psychiatrist; to some he is seen as a friend, and to some an enemy; many would point to atrocities in history and describe him as cruel, whereas many would point to stories they have seen of his loving kindness and describe him as good. I tend to describe God as loving, merciful, and quite difficult to understand. I tend to embrace what I see of his forgiveness and redemption and ignore what I see of his judgment and wrath. Sometimes I find it difficult to give a concise, well-balanced description of God.
As I was thinking about that this week I stumbled upon what is quickly becoming some of my favorite few lines of scripture:
the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:6b-7a)
So often my view of God is formed by culture, experiences, or just general lack of intentional thought. All the while Scripture tells me exactly who God is. So, if at some point in the future I am ever asked how I would describe God--I would like to quote these lines from Exodus. They are concise, well-balanced and better yet, true. They refreshed my understanding of God this week, and I pray they can do the same for you.
(And regarding punishment of the guilty, see Isaiah 53 and Romans 3--the punishment that brought us peace was upon him--God presented Christ as a sacrifice to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Good Shepherd
I am a new dad and as such I entertain scenarios that never before would have passed through my head. If you will indulge me here is a recent one:
I have a bunch of kids. Caroline and I have to leave for the weekend. We get a babysitter to watch the kids. We return to find one kid crying on the couch with an un-tended broken leg, another sick in bed, 3 missing, another glued to the t.v. watching Jersey Shore, and the babysitter in the backroom selling our sons lego creations on ebay.
Seems a little far-fetched I know, but I think we see a similar scenario spelled out in scripture, except replace the parents with God, the babysitter with shepherds, and the kids with sheep.
The scenario is presented in Ezekiel 34.
In verses 2-4 God calls out the religious leaders of the time for their poor shepherding of his flock:
2 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
Then in verse 10 God tells the bad shepherds about their fate:
I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
And in verses 11 and 12 he comforts the sheep:
I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
I know basically nothing about sheep and shepherds. My interaction with sheep is limited to petting zoos and my interaction with shepherds is limited to their pies. I know only slightly more about childcare than I do sheep, but still it helps me to think of it in a scenario that I am slightly more familiar with.
I have a bunch of kids. Caroline and I have to leave for the weekend. We get a babysitter to watch the kids. We return to find one kid crying on the couch with an un-tended broken leg, another sick in bed, 3 missing, another glued to the t.v. watching Jersey Shore, and the babysitter in the backroom selling our sons lego creations on ebay.
Seems a little far-fetched I know, but I think we see a similar scenario spelled out in scripture, except replace the parents with God, the babysitter with shepherds, and the kids with sheep.
The scenario is presented in Ezekiel 34.
In verses 2-4 God calls out the religious leaders of the time for their poor shepherding of his flock:
2 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
Then in verse 10 God tells the bad shepherds about their fate:
I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
And in verses 11 and 12 he comforts the sheep:
I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
I know basically nothing about sheep and shepherds. My interaction with sheep is limited to petting zoos and my interaction with shepherds is limited to their pies. I know only slightly more about childcare than I do sheep, but still it helps me to think of it in a scenario that I am slightly more familiar with.
Can you imagine how God is going to judge the religious leaders today who have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured? Can you imagine how He will punish the shepherds today who are not out searching for the lost? Thousands of years ago God would not tolerate abuse nor neglect of his flock--and I don't think his attitude towards it has changed much.
I am glad I stumbled across this passage this week. It is a comforting reminder of God's intense love for his sheep as well as his intense hatred of those who rule them harshly or brutally. May we all strengthen the week and search for the lost.
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