What Is God Really Like?
Sometimes we get a picture in our minds of God the Father—or even Jesus, His Son—as a strict, unapproachable authority figure, eagerly waiting for us to mess up so that He can discipline us harshly. Jesus, who was “fully God and fully man,” shows us the heart of the Father through His character. And thankfully, He isn’t quite what many of us would expect.
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
I’ve read Matthew 11 many times, and I usually lean in and notice the “Come to me, all of you who are weary… and I will give you rest” part of this passage. However, something new stood out to me recently:
“I am humble and gentle at heart.”
Humble and gentle do not mean weak. I’ve often heard humility described as “strength under control,” and we certainly see that in our Savior. He is all-powerful, yet He chose to come to this earth as a servant and give everything for us because He loves us that much.
And His love doesn’t just stop at making a way for us to be reconciled to the Father. He cares about the details of our lives today, even while we’re still here in this fallen, broken world. He cares if we’re carrying too much and feeling weary from it all.
He tells us to come to Him when we’re weary. His strength is a refuge. He provides exactly what we need. He isn’t overbearing or harsh in His expectations of us. His burden is “light.”
Our enemy would love for us to be afraid of our loving God, who has saved us and made a way for us to live victorious, fulfilling lives as we draw more and more people to Jesus. It’s a flat-out lie that God is overbearing and too cruel to have anything to do with you. God loves you so much that He gave His Son to pay the price for even your worst mistakes.
Have you believed a lie about what God’s character is like? Friend, I pray that you experience His perfect love in your life today.
“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” 1 John 4:16-19
