Hello friends:
I first sent this out over the ‘net a few years ago as a part of an email-based devotional series. I re-present it because of how much I benefitted from writing it and others from reading it. Please peruse and be inspired by the Spirit, not my waggling fingers!
Comments on “The Attributes of God” (Dr. Bill Bright)
1) God is personal
“Because God is a personal Spirit, I will seek intimate fellowship with Him.”–Bill Bright
How remarkable it is that God in all of His infinite majesty and glory desires to talk with us personally! The Bible is filled with many examples of such longing for closeness, but the most poignant, I think, is Matthew 23:37–”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” The agony that must have accompanied these words!
Up to this point, Matthew 23 is filled with proclamations of hypocrisy and woes against the Pharisees, filled with condemnation for their distortion of God’s truth. Yet, Jesus closes this section with a petition for them to return to Him still–the love and overwhelming compassion that represents!
The irony of “Jerusalem”, the city of peace and site of the Temple, juxtaposed beside “you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you” should not be lost on us. Even to this day, the church continues to be guilty of shutting our ears to the truth God reveals in His Word and through His messengers. When we seek to modernize or modify the Gospel to fit our society or our opinions, we destroy any claim to truth and any testimony we have. In the words of Paul, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called–one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6)
“how often I have longed to gather your children together”: Fellowship in the Body of Christ is essential in our quest to bring Him glory. We each have our personal views and interpretations; we each have our personal call and purpose. However, we are also called to support one another. The resounding gong and clanging cymbal of I Corinthians 13 applies to the lack of love for those we minister TO as well as those we minister WITH. Unity is not unanimity: We do not have to agree, but we do have to stick together!
“as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”: This is an interesting image of God. In all other references and analogies, God is Father, but here He shows Himself to also be Mother. The love of a mother is different than that of a father, at least in our human minds. From the moment of conception, our mothers have protected us, nourished us, and “been there” for us. God desires, He groans for, that kind of closeness and trust with Him. He, of all persons, knows us better than even our mother. I challenge you to draw closer to Him daily and spend time resting beneath His wings.
“but you were not willing.”: Whether you hold to predestination or not, God never forces us to love Him. He never makes us trust Him. He gently, but firmly, calls us. Yet so often we ignore Him and His promise of peace and rest in search of greener pastures and more exciting experiences. Over the course of this summer, now that you have time to focus on things other than school, I urge you to make yourself willing, to listen to God’s messages to you, to seek Him and keep seeking Him for the remaining days He gives you.
