What is God good at?
Dec 29, 2011
The Vase for Grace - the grace of God from 2 Corinthians
By Mike Gaudet
What is God good at?
The answer will surprise you!
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
God is good at demonstrating “compassion” and giving “comfort.”
The word translated “compassion” is really “compassions.” It is plural, not singular. God is described as the source of multiple acts of divine deliverance . . . ”the Father of compassions.”
The word translated “comfort” is actually closer in meaning to encouragement than to comfort. God is characterized as the source of influence that enables weary, discouraged travelers to keep going in the direction truly best for them . . . the “God of all comfort.”
The problem with this characterization is that the Bible itself seems to contradict the “kinder, gentler” image of God expressed in this passage. When leading the Israelites out of slavery, we read that “God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.” 1 Corinthians 10:5 How are we supposed to reconcile “Father of compassion” and “God of all comfort” with “bodies scattered over the desert”?
One thing to observe is that even when the Bible furnishes evidence of harsh treatment, evidence of God’s saving acts is usually close at hand.
For example, the Old Testament book of Lamentations gives voice to heart wrenching cries of human suffering: “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.” Lamentation 3:19-20
Woven into the very fabric of these laments, however, we find heartwarming expressions of divine deliverance: “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentation 3:21-23
More importantly, while accounts of harsh judgments live alongside accounts of tender mercies within the pages of the Old Testament, the New Testament clearly emphasizes the mercy of God. On this side of the cross of Christ, “God’s mercy” becomes our motivation. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1
The mercies of God motivate us to live the Christian life.
God extends His comfort to us.
God “comforts us.” He doesn’t insulate us from difficulties. Rather, God comes alongside us “in all our troubles” and encourages us to keep going even though the grade is steep and the path is rocky.
God extends His comfort through us to others.
When the circumstances of life threaten us we are in the best position to experience God. This is true of all who populate this planet. We don’t trust God until we have to.
God “comforts us in all our troubles” so that we can “comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” God reaches out compassionately to the world through His children. His purposes are accomplished when His children reflect to others comfort received from Him.
Because God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” He actively develops these qualities in His sons and daughters. By expressing these qualities to others in need, children of God reflect the reality of who God is.
Children of God are called to channel God’s comfort to others.
To be like God is to live a life of compassion.