God Is A Person
It took me a little longer than normal to get an article posted because I honestly had no idea what I wanted to write about—then I started studying the Book of Romans and I fell in love with every word and every verse. I believe Paul’s story is one of the most beautiful transformations in the history of the world; I absolutely love studying his writing and seeing his person through the New Testament.
Its easy for us to read through Romans or Galatians or Ephesians and see who Paul is. We can get a sense of Paul’s personality through his writing and his letters; we know that Paul was long-winded [Acts 20:7-12], that he enjoyed singing and worshipping the Lord [Acts 16:25], we even know that he was good friends with Luke [Colossians 4:14]! Can you imagine Paul? A strong, healthy man turned Christ fanatic!
I see Paul as a tall man with thick hair that probably became a little unruly after so many months in prison. I see him speaking passionately before crowds, some who love him, others who hate him—when he turns to the woman following him, I see the anger on his face as he rebukes the demon out of her [Acts 16:16-18]. I see the tears in his eyes as he scribbles dozens of letters to churches across the globe. Paul is a person who lived and breathed thousands of years ago; he walked the streets of Italy and preached in churches across the Mediterranean and the Middle East—some of which are still standing today.
Isn’t it so easy to see Paul? Everything I’ve just said are things you can find throughout the New Testament. You can get to know his person through his writings; so, how much more can you see Christ through His writing?
You can open small windows into Paul’s life and personality throughout his letters—but the entirety of the Holy Bible is God’s letter. God is a person too, just like Paul. Christ lived and breathed and walked on this earth thousands of years ago; but the best thing about Jesus is that He still lives today. You don’t have to wonder and guess at who He is, you don’t have to stitch together snippets of information to find out anything about God. Whatever you wonder about the Lord, you can simply ask. We, as His children, have a direct line to our Father and it is open 24/7. God WANTS to speak to you. He WANTS to listen to you talk about your day, or your dog, or what you had for lunch. God is eager to hear from you, because He loves you.
Listen to this:
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8 NIV
Did you get that? Look back at the history of the world—you can even look through all your favorite books and movies and I promise you will not find many—if any—stories about someone who died for a Christian. You’d have a tough search trying to find an instance in history of someone laying down their life for a Child of God—but you might find someone who died to save a good person, a nice guy, some innocent child somewhere.
But look at God.
Christ didn’t lay down His life for good people; He didn’t die for all the nice guys out there, for the good folks who always pay their taxes and never tell lies—no! Jesus died for sinners, for all the rapists, murderers, liars, and more. He died for YOU and ME while we were still unclean—rotten before God’s eyes.
Think about that.
God is a person, and He hates sin—yet He died for people who were COVERED in it.
Can you see the sort of person God is now? Can you see the gentle, precious love of Christ in those few verses? I can see a man who will leave the 99 to save the 1. I am that one—I am the one who needed to be saved, who reached out their arms and let go a cry for help and there He was. A man whose face was hidden by clouds, whose majesty I could not behold, but whose love I could feel so strongly it shook me to my core. A love so infectious it pours forth from my own soul each and every day. I cannot help but shine because the light of Christ within me is so bright.
Can you see God in every single page of the Word? Get to know Him, spend time with Him, cherish Him, love Him. God is a person and He wants to drown you in His love.