Over my life I’ve met many people who have a skewed view of who God is. Often they assume God is mad at them. They also think God is distant and God is harsh. They blame God for their plight in life, but give Him no credit for anything good and glorious. I’m so glad to read in God’s word a different view of our creator.

God says he is head over heels in love with all humanity. So much so that He has created a path for us all to return to Him and find peace and goodness. He hates it when sin and depravity lure us in and destroy the good life He has in store for us. He sent His son to pay the price for all of our sins by dying on the cross as a sacrifice paying the debt for our sins. What we need to do is seek forgiveness from Him for that sin and be set free.

So how could a God like that be mad at us? How could a loving God be so good and so mad at us at the same time? He can’t! Let’s look again at the very words God had penned for our benefit. They aren’t complex words but they are so very profound.

John 3:16–17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Every word here is declaring His love for all of us. Every word states His desire to rescue us from this broken world we have created. A world where evil can prevail, hatred can exist and immorality can be seen as acceptable. We sadly kill the unborn and sacrifice our developing children on the altar of our own ease and ambition. God has not withheld food from people around the world. The fact is that there is more than enough food to feed the world. We must choose more skillfully how it is distributed.

We must avoid confusing our lack of noticing God’s kindness and goodness with His everyday expression among humanity. We can ask God to help us love our neighbor and show kindness toward those who disagree with us.

The Bible states in simple language. Psalm 136:1 (NIV) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

I’m so thankful that the church I connected to early in my life as a Christian, at age 23, taught me about God straight from the pages of the Bible. Now today I continue to return to its pages to find more of who He really is.

Written by Pastor Paris Pasch of The Journey Church in Hastings