I get frustrated when I need to say the same thing to someone over and over again. Why don’t they just do it? Why do I keep having to repeat myself? It doesn’t take much for me to lose patience and start to have a bad attitude. So, when I keep messing up and don’t follow God’s commands, it’s easy for me to think He’s given up on me too, or at the very least, is running low on grace for my mistakes.
But in reading Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund, I am confronted again and again with this simple truth: God is not like us.
This might seem very obvious. Of course God isn’t like us! But what Ortlund says rings true -- “We project onto Jesus our skewed instincts about how the world works… Our natural intuition can only give us a God like us.” (Ortlund, pp. 23-24)
When you put it like that, of course we view God in human terms. It’s the example that’s always before us. We see humans interacting with each other every moment of the day and that is going to influence our thinking much more than the 15 minutes we may spend in the Bible each morning. We know the verse “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8, but do we really internalize it? Two specific examples from the book really helped me understand this better.
“He does not love like us. We love until we are betrayed. Jesus continued to the cross despite betrayal. We love until we are forsaken. Jesus loved through forsakenness. We love up to a limit. Jesus loves to the end.” (Ortlund, p. 198)
Our love is so fickle and dependent on works, and we project that onto Jesus. Isn’t it great news that Jesus’ love for us is nothing like that of the world? It’s hard to grasp that concept but it’s true. We are more loved than we can ever know, even when we are at our most unlovable.
“…God’s anger requires provocation; his mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth. We tend to think: divine anger is pent up, spring loaded; divine mercy is slow to build. It’s just the opposite. Divine mercy is ready to burst forth at the slightest prick. (For fallen humans, we learn in the New Testament, this is reversed. We are to provoke one another to love, according to Hebrews 10:24. Yahweh needs no provoking to love, only to anger. We need no provoking to anger, only love. Once again, the Bible is one long attempt to deconstruct our natural vision of who God actually is.)” (Ortlund, p. 148-149)
This really made sense to me. I need no provoking to become angry. Simply cut me off while driving, and you’ll quickly see it! I need a lot of provoking to love others. People are hard to love, and I struggle to love the way that God commands us to. So, it makes sense that I think of God being the same way – quick to anger, slow to mercy. But it is the opposite. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. (Exodus 34:6)
If we only look to the world we’re going to have a skewed view of who God is. Instead, I encourage you to dive into the Scriptures and discover who God says He is. He’s not like us, and for that we can be eternally grateful.
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Danielle (Dani) Rupp grew up in a small town in Ohio and is a true Buckeye fan, though she tries not to be obnoxious about it.
In 2011 she came to Pennsylvania to earn her Master of Social Work degree.
Dani spent time in South Asia, where she volunteered with International Justice Mission, learned to tolerate spicy food and cross the roads without being hit.
IF:2022 is a two-day event where women all over the world gather together, get equipped, and discover the next step in their calling: to go and make disciples. The last IF:Gathering reached women in 144 different countries and 6500 different locations. We had over 200 Willowdale Women and friends get inspired by some of the most influential Christian speakers! Click Here to hear Founder Jennie Allen's vision for 2022. This year’s theme is living with resiliency instead of fragility (1 Peter 1:13-16 MSG).
Dates/Times
March 4: 7:15 pm to 10:30 pm
March 5: 10 am to 5 pm
Virtual IF:Gathering registration: $10 (includes video access the weekend of the event) Watch with a friend or gather a small group for a viewing party.
In Person IF:Gathering at our Kennett campus. Registration: $30 (includes the $10 live stream fee plus snacks both days and lunch on Saturday). Gathering is special because it is a spark for life-on-life discipleship to happen all year.