February 25 I Saturday

Numbers 9-11

Mark 5:1-20

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”    —James 1:17

Nothing in this universe is immutable. Everything in the universe is mutating, that is, changing or in the process of changing. While everything is decaying or dying, Malachi 3:6 reassures us that, “I the LORD do not change.” God is always the same; He is immutable—unchanging. One of the evidences for there to be a Creator behind the universe is that the natural flow for everything is to slow down and decay. The universe, however, is not doing that; it is keeping, as the seasons are coming on schedule every year. 

       We can read not only from the book of Genesis but the whole of Scripture and know God because He is unchanging. For this reason, the Word of God should be central and important to us because Scripture is literally God revealing Himself. From the Bible, we can find answers to questions on God’s character such as, What makes God angry? What pleases God? In what conditions does God pour out His love and grace? Our aim to know God is all about finding our way back to the Garden of Eden. In the beginning, “God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). God created Adam in His own image so that all of creation may look at Adam and know what God is like. Not just the physical element, but God’s purpose for us to be His image-bearer is so that people will look at us and see something of His moral character.

       The attributes that God shares with humanity through His Word include His goodness, His grace, His kindness, His mercy, His patience, and to some extent, His holiness. These are qualities that are true of God and He has given us the honour to reflect His godly character. Although we can only experience partial holiness in our earthly lives, there will come a day when we will share fully in His holiness.

       Jesus says in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” Eternal life is actually about knowing His love, His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His patience and His holiness, because our knowledge of God will be directly related to the measure in which the character of God is being reproduced in us. In this life, we have the old nature that fights against the Spirit but nevertheless we have the ability to aspire to holiness. That is God’s intended purpose for us beyond this life and that is the ultimate goal of the gospel—to transform us into His image.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for being an immutable God and that I can learn about Your character through Your Word. Help transform me into Your likeness, reflecting Your character to all the world.