Romans 8:18 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (NIV)
Today I found another example of this being lived out. I received a request for prayer from a man in the Philippines whose wife has been unfaithful to him. As I read his note I was struck by how this man reminded me of the character of God. Even though the sinful choices of the wife had devastating consequences on the man in many ways, still he expresses a desire to remain faithful to his commitment and to forgive.
That is a clear reflection of the character of God, "The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." (Exodus 34:6, NIV) I am so grateful that this is the nature of our God, so perfectly expressed through the life of Jesus His Son. His love extended to me in forgiveness of my rebellion against Him. And that forgiveness is not just a quickly spoken "I forgive you." but it is a costly forgiveness demanding the sacrifice of God on my behalf.
It is my desire to reflect God's character as well. How I wish my kids and my wife could say that I am slow to anger but I know that isn't always true. I hope to find out from my Filipino friend how he has been able to live out that character of God but I am sure a big part of it is from keeping his eyes fixed on Christ "the author and perfecter of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2, NIV)
Would pray for this man and his family? I know they are going to need all the help they can get.
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