Make God Look Good

Do you make God look good? That is a strange question, but it is a question that God asks himself.

Isaiah 48:9-11
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another.

Did you realize that in God's perfection, he has self-respect? Because of his self-respect he may withhold his wrath against his people when they are blatantly disobedient. The idea is, "I will hold back from sending calamity because I love them and because those people bear my name, and my name should be associated with good things, not bad."

If you claim to follow Jesus Christ, then your life says something about Jesus.

So, what is your life saying?

Does your life make Jesus look good? Are you making Jesus look good at work, around your kids, in your marriage, with your neighbors or at school? Jesus is good! Even though life is full of trouble, we can make Jesus look good even as we go through trouble and very good when he brings us out of trouble.

Let's make God look good! Let's not make him push the limits of his mercy. Let's live such good lives that people can not help but say good things about the God we serve and love.