I’m glad that being a genius is not a requirement for being faithful.
I’d be in big trouble if that were the case.
I’m alot of things, but genius isn’t one of them.
Some things I understand and can even have innovative ideas from time to time.
But in other areas, my comprehension and competency falls short of where I’m sure God wants them to be.
Because of my imperfections, I am quite grateful for scriptures that point me in the direction of becoming more holy.
Particularly those that are easy to understand.
Today’s reading from the One-Year Bible includes Psalm 145 and that segment lists a number of God’s characteristics that I should imitate:
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.” (vv. 8-9)
“The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” (vv. 13-14)
“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and faithful in all He does.” (v. 17)
Let’s review the above characteristics:
– gracious
– compassionate
– slow to anger
– rich in love
– good to all
– trustworthy in all promises
– faithful in all that is done
– upholds those who have fallen
– lifts up those bent over with burdens
– righteous in all ways
Wow. That’s quite a list.
Why wouldn’t we want to serve a God who perfectly demonstrates these 10 characteristics toward us and others?
And why wouldn’t we have godly influence in the lives of people who see us demonstrating these others-focused characteristics on a consistent basis?
You know, there are many people in your life or mine who are hungry for more examples of these behaviors. Why? Because so few people live up to this list… or even come close.
If you and I become better imitators of God, though, checking our lives daily to measure how we’re demonstrating the nature of God in serving others, we’ll have more evangelistic impact, I’m sure.
Remember, touching lives for the Gospel is not about impressing people with mental genius but instead about spiritual goodness.
As always, I love you
Martin
