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)
I spent a long time today trying to think of one perfect verse to answer the question: “What is God like?” As you might imagine, this self-imposed task turned out to be quite frustrating. God is so many different things…and there are SO MANY different Bible verses! I finally settled on James 1:17 because it describes God’s goodness. He’s not like us, good every once in a while. He is consistently good, consistently giving, and always faithful.
This week we finish our sermon series on Elijah and Elisha. Throughout these past months I have encouraged you to be an action hero. God is, to paraphrase the old country song, looking for a “little less talk and a lot more action” from his people. You don’t have to be smart. You don’t have to be well-spoken. In fact, think about some of your favorite action heroes from the movies…most of them are pretty dim-witted. But we don’t care, because they get the job done!
It is a lot easier to jump in the fray when you have the right tools at your disposal. Batman isn’t really a “super” hero at all…he’s just got great gadgets. He’s always ready for anything. The batmobile, the batplane, the bat-grappling hook, the bat shark repellent. He’s a lot braver when his utility belt is full of tools.
That brings us back to the nature of God (and our sermon this week). We’re a lot braver when we know that God is quick to respond to our prayers, is a deliverer when we get into tough scrapes, is patient when we blow it, merciful when we don’t deserve it, all-powerful when we need a miracle, and as James reminds us constantly faithful.
We’ll talk more about this Sunday. Until then, put those in your utility belt and get out there and be an action hero!
