Many in our day take a somewhat dim view of God. Perhaps, right now, that’s you. Life has been turning out badly: a broken relationship, redundancy, cancer etc. So we conclude that God is nowhere in evidence and thus, by implication, no longer good and therefore to be unceremoniously dumped on the rubbish heap of our unmet concerns and unremedied pains.
A little after the ten commandments the Bible reads:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 & 5
God is boldly commanding the people and demanding from them a total commitment of heart and soul. Maybe then we are justified in holding a rather dim view of a simultaneously all commanding and all demanding God. So here comes a bit of a twist. God speaks through Jeremiah his prophet:
“… I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.” Jeremiah 32 verses 40-41
Quite uncanny how again and again God turns the demand upon himself. Numerous times: “I will …”. He’s the one doing the action. Savour that ending: “… doing them good … with all my heart and soul.” Astounding isn’t it, he holds nothing back, his is that unrelenting commitment to doing us good. And how does he do it, well, with all his heart and soul! So think again and let’s not be dim in our view of God.