Show Me Your Glory: Reflections on God's Multifaceted HeartSample

God is Gracious

“You’re my treasure!”

Of all the phrases my mom said to me as I was growing up, these are perhaps the most meaningful. She didn’t tell me this only when I was acting like a treasure; she called me her treasure all the time.

Now that I have my own kids, I love passing these words on to them. No matter their feelings or how others treat them, they are always my treasure.

Turns out Mom’s words reflect a beautiful concept in Scripture, giving us a framework for God’s inclination toward us. In Exodus 34:6, God describes himself as gracious. This word in the Hebrew carries the idea of a superior showing favor toward a person of lower status.1 This graciousness is motivated by delight and involves treating someone as a treasure.

Unlike humans, who sometimes act benevolently for selfish reasons, God’s kindness flows from his consistent, generous nature. He delights in, even longs to, shower us with treasuring grace (Isaiah 30:18).

Because our God is a gracious God.

What might change if we believed this on an emotional level?

If you’ve spent much time in the Church, you’ve likely heard about grace. Maybe you learned to define it with the acronym God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Perhaps you’ve sung “Amazing Grace” or heard Bible verses about salvation coming to us “by grace through faith.”

All these explanations are true. Recognizing grace as an undeserved gift is crucial to our Christian faith.

But it’s possible to accept the facts about grace without experiencing its impact at the core of our being. We can believe in grace, even accept it with gratitude, yet misunderstand God’s heart in giving it. Consider the following questions:

• Who in my life do I truly treasure? How do these emotions cause me to act toward this person? What might God want to teach me about his delight in me through this relationship?
• Am I more likely to think of God as treasuring me or tolerating me?
• Is my soul characterized by striving to please God with my good works or resting in what Jesus did on my behalf?
• When something bad happens, do I assume God is punishing me?
• Can I imagine God singing over me? What might his song sound like?

God loves to treasure us because his heart is gracious. He stores up goodness and spends it lavishly (Psalm 31:10). He delights in calling us his kids (Ephesians 1:5-6). His sacrificial love reveals our worth and value (John 15:13).

His grace transforms us from the inside out. Fear of punishment might change our behavior, and duty can teach us discipline.

But only grace-filled love quiets our souls (Zephaniah 3:17).

It invites us to cease striving, rest in his love, and trade our performance for a relationship (Psalm 46:10, Matthew 11:28-30). God’s grace cultivates a garden of abundant life in the desert of duty and obligation. It draws us deeper into friendship with the One who is our very life.

Our gracious God cherishes us and surrounds us with his favor.

“Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him” (Isaiah 30:8 NASB).

Personal Takeaway: What would it look like for God to quiet my heart with his love? In what ways am I experiencing his graciousness right now? Where do I need more grace today?

Identity Check: Because God is gracious, I am treasured by Him.

Prayer Prompt: Thank God for his graciousness and ask him to help you see both him and yourself through his eyes. Pray that he’ll pour out his grace in a specific area where you need it today.

1. The Bible Project's Word Study series on the character of God, in a video entitled "God's Consistent Posture Toward All Humanity"