Our Unprofilable God

If you’ve watched the news networks for long, you’re familiar with the cast of expert commentators they utilize to explain the day’s events. I’m most curious about the profilers—the psychologists, attorneys, authors, and academics whose specialty it is to get inside the head of someone and explain his or her behavior.

Explaining past behavior with an eye toward predicting the future is apparently big business—especially when the person being profiled is powerful and their actions are impactful. Maybe it is possible to profile a world leader or a political kingpin or even a criminal, but one World Leader can’t be neatly profiled. Even if you look for clues that will allow you to predict God’s future behavior, you are likely to be surprised.

It is true that God’s character never changes. He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). But his ways are inscrutable. They are higher than ours. He loves truth so much that he would strike dead a couple of converts who misrepresented their generosity, and he loves holiness so much that a man who mishandles his Ark must die. But he also loves mercy so much that he allowed his own Son’s suffering, and grace so much that whoever believes may receive not his or her due punishment but Another’s righteousness.

Go figure.

See if you can say why floods come or children die or marriages fail, or why some of the lame and sick and sad are made better and some are not. I can’t. The God I love and serve and seek to follow is knowable but in no way predictable. He’s utterly exacting and yet unbelievably merciful. He receives sinners and abhors sin.

The moment I begin to try to hem him in with my meager understanding, he explodes the cords of my reason like so much silly string, leaving me awed, speechless, and rather glad to have a God who strikes me dumb with ease. I dare not say I know him inside out—I cannot. I examine his ways not to predict but simply to praise.

I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; what god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders.

Psalm 77:11-14, NASB

From the book