What Do You Believe About God?

The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

“I have a hard time seeing God as a loving Father since my dad is so distant,” Angela admitted to her Sunday school group one morning during their discussion of God’s love.

She’d been a Christian for as long as she could remember. But because of her difficult relationship with her earthly father, who is harsh and not around very much, she still sometimes wondered if God truly cared about even the small things in her life.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mr. Johnson, the Sunday school teacher, said. “What do you hope that God is like?”

Angela played with her skirt. “Kind. And loving.”

Mr. Johnson nodded. “Anyone else?”

“Forgiving,” the girl next to Angela said.

“And compassionate,” a boy across the table chimed in.

“Yes,” Mr. Johnson agreed. “I think God is all of those things, but we have to have eyes to see those traits. This week, let’s ask God to show us that he is those things.”

The group nodded agreement as they prayed.

Later on that week, Angela got a call from a friend who just wanted to chat, and she was reminded of God’s love. As she was reading her Bible, she came across a verse that told her God is merciful, and she smiled as she thought how true it was.

“Thank you, God, for being all these good things,” she prayed. “Keep showing me more of who you are.”

We all can have relationships with others that distort what we believe about God, but those things don’t change the fact that God is good and loving. We don’t ever have to wonder what he’s really all about—we can go to his Word to discover his character. He’ll never hide himself from us.

Throughout the Bible we see that God is kind, compassionate, and slow to get angry with us. His love never fails or ends. Wow! This is such good news. No matter how other people treat us, no matter if others see our value or not, whether they want to be friends or not, how God feels about us is very clear. He loves us, always. We never have to doubt that. He is the very best friend we can always rely on in this life.

Things to Think About

• How do you think God feels about you? Why do you feel this way?
• How has God been a good friend to you?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Thank God for the ways he has been a good friend to you.