I am still constantly growing in my faith, and part of that has involved trying to understand God MYSELF as opposed to simply accepting what is told.
For example, I recently saw a post that claimed that "God is not an all-loving God." To be fair, I agree with the statement -- TO AN EXTENT ✋️
(All pictures provided are my own)
God is not an "all-loving" God in the way most people would like to perceive Him. This does not equate to the opposite end of the spectrum; God is not malicious, either.
Contrary to popular belief, God's love is not "blind." He does not "willingly" accept you, or approve of everything you do "so long as it isn't hurting anyone." God does not love without reason -- it IS earned.
I personally perceive His love as a parent's love. As we celebrate Mother's Day, it made me reflect on the fact that I certainly love my children with all of my heart and care for them endlessly, even when we fight. But this does not mean I excuse their bad behavior. In fact, it is BECAUSE of my love for them that I WANT to correct them and save them from future mistakes.
I have often thought, if my children ever did something extremely grievous -- like, warrants the 💀 PENALTY, that's how heinous the act was -- then as their mother it would break my heart, it would make me question all of my decisions as their parent, but I would not shield them from justice for their sins...
This is how I imagine God's love for us. After all, it's indisputable that God has served justice (in very callous ways) to His sinful children.
But, rather than take man's word for it (including my own), I decided to take God's Word instead -- and yes, I DO mean in His very own words! I went to the Bible to research every instance where GOD describes Himself.
(This is very important because there are many examples, such as in Psalms or even with the Apostles, where THEY describe God based on how they perceive Him. I don't want that lol...)
So, there are five Bible passages where God describes Himself to us. The very first example that is given, is that GOD IS MERCIFUL:
"And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..." (Exodus 34:6)
However, in this same passage, God also lets us know that He is JUST:
"...by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:7)
A short while later, God tells us that He is a JEALOUS God:
"Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14)
In Isaiah, God states that He is RIGHTEOUS:
"And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me." (Isaiah 45:21)
The Lord tells us that He is CONSTANT in Malachi:
"For I am the Lord, I do not change; ... Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you..." (Malachi 3:6-7)
Finally, as an additional point, I know that God has a sense of humor, for the story in 2 Kings is absolutely hilarious:
"... and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths." (2 Kings 2:23-24)
Aside from this, there are other passages that provide us with personal interpretations of God:
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;" (Psalm 34:8) The claim that God is GOOD, GREAT, AWESOME, etc.
"Before the mountains were born Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90:2) The claim that God is ETERNAL.
"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there." (Psalm 139:7-8) The claim that God is OMNIPRESENT.
"The Lord does not delay and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) The claim that God is PATIENT.
"Beloved, let us love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God, for God is love." (1 John 4:7-8) The claim that God is LOVE.
Ultimately, the most important aspect to take away from all of this, is this... We were created in God's image AND likeness, so while we may look like Him, God also demands that we act like Him as well. If God is capable of all of this, then so are we.
As one author put it: