What Word Best Describes You?

What word best describes you? Or perhaps what word would you hope other people would use to describe you? I’ve been to some funerals where the congregation was asked that question to describe the deceased. In that exercise, it's interesting to see how many characteristics are told about someone.

Truth is, we can see the same person from different perspectives. What about God? What word do we attribute to God’s character?

We may have different experiences that have shaped how we view God, but He describes Himself in His word. But how in the world can the creator of the universe, the savior of our souls, the sustainer of life, the eternal judge, be summed up in one word?

In the Hebrew culture (like many ancient cultures) names meant something more than just an identity. In Exodus 33:18-19, Moses had asked God for permission to lay his eyes on Him, which God allowed. But He says, “I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence…”

Once God was ready, He passed by and described His name. He says in Exodus 34:6-7, “THE LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

All of these words help explain what peace is all about. God’s peace is something that He wants us to have (John 14:27, 16:33; Romans 2:10, 5:1, etc.) In a letter, James addresses several things that these congregations needed to strive to achieve. James 4 begins with explaining why they don’t have peace among themselves, and what they need to do in order to obtain it – James 4:7-10, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

There are a lot of words that help to describe what God is looking for in us: faithfulness, perseverance, compassion, repentance, purity, humility… Imagine how much peace comes to anyone who demonstrates these kinds of qualities towards the people we live around.

Psalms 103:8-12, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”