Tapestry of God!

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The fourth angel emptied his bowl on the sun, and it began to scorch people like fire.  Everyone was scorched by its great heat, and all of them cursed the name of God who had power over these terrible troubles. But no one turned to God and praised him.

Revelation 16: 8 - 9

How many times have you heard someone say the words: "God wouldn't do that!"  When you think you understand the character and nature of God, then anything that violates that perception of Him is ruled out in your thinking.  

These "bowls of God's anger" described in the Book of Revelation are not consistent with the understanding that most people have of God today.   If they believe in God at all, one conception of Him is that God is a kind and loving grandfather who desires that all men would turn their hearts to Jesus and be saved.  They then question why He would ever pour out a bowl of His anger on the sun which would cause great heat to scorch people like fire? 

Another view of God is that He is an awesome and fearsome Eternal Being who is ready to burn us in Hell if we make one misstep in our dealings with Him.  These folks spend their lives trying to thread the needle of making sure they do everything "necessary" for salvation.  

The truth is that God is both Awesome and to be Feared, but He is also Loving and Kind!  If you think you know and understand Who God Is, I would warn you that God cannot be defined by one aspect of His character.  In fact, you can learn something new about God every day for the rest of your life and you will not even begin to understand the full picture of Who God Is!  God is like a giant tapestry which is woven to reveal a beautiful picture.  Every loop of thread is sewn to establish one dot in the ultimate image you see.  If the tapestry was as big as the world itself, it would only show a small part of the nature of God!

Our job is to Praise God at every turn in life!  If things are easy and comfortable and life is pleasant in every way, then we must Praise God!  If life turns hard and painful and despair is all around us, then we should Praise God and know for certain that the Love of God will sustain us to the end of this life on earth and forever with Him in Heaven!    

"Lord Jesus, show me another loop in the Tapestry of God and give me the wisdom to wait until I stand before Your Throne to decide that I know everything about who You are and what You are like! And even then I may not understand You completely!  May Your Holy Name be praised now and forever.  Amen."