Gracious
A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like, and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we look at what it means for God to be gracious, his action of coming to rescue the undeserving and ill-deserving.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Read Exodus 34:1-9
Read Exodus 34.1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read.
Merciful and gracious are a pair. How are they different? How are they similar?
Do you tend to approach God based on what you've done, what has been done to you, or what he has done?
Consider Titus 2.11-13. What has God accomplished in his grace?
How might you approach God differently if you deeply knew him to be gracious?
Oct 22, 2023 - Steve Hart