The Many Attributes of God

How do we most often view God? Everyone struggles with having a slightly one-sided view of God. We tend to assume that he most often shows one certain trait. That trait tends to be based on how we were taught to view God overall. What if, though, an infinite God reflects all of his traits fully at all times? 

It’s hard to get our heads around the idea that God is the essence of the words used to describe him. He isn’t merely just, wise and holy, he is justice, wisdom and holiness. He is the source and embodiment of those words. 

The first words of the Bible are, “In the beginning.” We’re being welcomed into the mind of God. “Before we even begin,” he is saying, “draw your eyes upward to me. I am the source of all things. You will find all that you want and need in your life in me.” 

We’ve all struggled with reconciling justice and love. Today’s headlines cause outrage in our spirits. “How can a just and loving God allow such misery to happen to innocent people?” 

My life’s work in studying the attributes of God and sharing his love with people has never once provided me with pat answers to life’s big questions. What I’ve learned instead is this: The point of life is not being in a place of pure comfort and satisfaction. Life is about reaching for and knowing God, the giver of life. 

Each of God’s attributes goes back not just to the beginning of man’s journey, but all the way to the birth of time and space. He welcomes our questions and our seeking to understand his ways, but he longs for more. His heart is for us to spend time with him and with his word so that our hearts are engaged with his. As we develop a relationship with him, our perspective changes. Rather than merely analyzing God from a distance, we savor the joy and richness of his presence. This is when we truly begin to understand him. 

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” It is when we are in his presence that we begin to see the wonders of who he is.