Title
Conforming To His Attributes
Scripture
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.
(Psalm 145:8)
Devotional
When Jesus commanded us to be perfect, just as His Father in heaven is perfect, (1) He was revealing this text as part of that perfection. God is gracious in that He equips us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. He shows compassion because He is aware of our sufferings. He is slow to anger because He has chosen to love us and He is great in mercy simply because He is merciful. We are to manifest these same attributes to others, just as they have been imparted to us. We are to be gracious, not by means of tolerance, but by equipping others. We are to show compassion, by sharing the gospel. We are to be slow to anger by purposefully loving those whom God has commanded us to love. We are to be merciful, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”(2) Therefore, our attitudes (attributes) should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. (3)
(1) Matthew 5:48, (2) James 2:12, (3) Philippians 2:5 (NIV)