Attribute 6: He is impartially merciful

His mercy knows no bounds. That means that there is no one who He does not love and longs to come into a relationship with Him. It also means there is no area of my life He cannot transform by His power, as a result of His mercy and grace.

He has mercy for the rich and the poor, the old and the young, for people from the east and the west. No one is exluded from God's passionate desire that all should know Him. His mercy does not judge as we judge. It does not go for the prettiest, handsomest, strongest, fastest, brainiest or most popular. It goes after the everyone, including the weak, the lonely, the broken, the needy, the vulnerable and the teachable. No one is too far away or has done anything too bad to be included in this mercy.

Attribute 5: He is imperially powerful

His power created the Earth, and His power sustains it. His power will redeem it and bring about a new heavens and new Earth when He returns.

His power transforms our lives. He renews our minds. He heals our bodies, and stirs our spirits. And all of this is possible through the ultimate power He demonstrated in atoning for our sin by laying down His life, and taking it up again. Only He had the power to do that, and that is why it has become the centrepoint of history.

Attribute 4: He is immortally gracious

He is gracious, and will be forever. His graciousness will never fade. When He chose us before the foundation of the Earth, He was a gracious God. Today, He is a gracious God, saving and transforming lives for our benefit and His glory. And forever, He will be gracious, sustaining our very being for the purpose of enjoying Him.

Immortally gracious. Immortal is not just the absence of the possibility of death, but an active form of living. A fullness which we can only catch a glimpse of on this Earth. Therefore, immortally gracious is an active, full, wonderful, proactive grace which calls and transforms, elects yet is unconditional, which we live in the good of, but which He gets the glory for.

Attribute 3: He is eternally steadfast

Reminds me of: The hymn "Sure & Steadfast" we used to sing in the Boys' Brigade, and "Will your anchor hold?"

Steadfast builds on the idea of strength. Not only is He strong, but strong with a purpose and a context. Immovable. Consistent. Faithful. Steadfast.

It also implies that we all have an anchor (or anchors). Things that we cling to in good times, and in disaster. The question, as the song puts it, is "will your anchor hold in the storms of life?" Those who know Jesus will have an assurance from the Holy Spirit that, whatever comes their way, they have the steadfastness of Jesus available to them. He will never change and will always be there.

I have a friend who is currently in the process of dicovering whether she has cancer. Not many of us would cope well in such a situation. But this person is confident in the steadfastness of Jesus. She knows that His strength is always available to her. It is expressed in personal assurance, and in the life of His body, the church. She is experiencing His steadfastness.

The challenge to me and you is how often do we experience and acknowledge Jesus' steadfastness in our own lives?

Attribute 2: He is entirely sincere

He means everything He says; everything is said with feeling. He cannot lie. For example:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love."
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

So when He laid down His life for you, He meant it. When He took it back up again with power, boy did He mean it. It's not something He would ever want to change. His sincerety comes out of His burning, white-hot, passionate love for men and women everywhere.

But the sincerety of His command brings a massive and serious challenge to us: "GO and make disciples of all nations."

He means it. So should we.

Attribute 1: He is enduringly strong

It is by His enduring strength that I am saved. Though I am weak, He is strong and His strength finds perfection in my weakness. He made me weak so He could prove Himself strong. Though I am naturally a failure, with Him, through His strength I am naturally a winner. His strength allowed Him to overcome all my punishment. And now His strength sustains me, and helps me to overcome.