Have you ever used Google Earth? If you haven’t, try it! It’s as simple as typing in your address. First you see the entire planet. That’s cool, but it’s only the beginning of the fun. Then it begins to zoom in and you see North America (or whichever continent you live on), the region where you live, and finally you’ll see your neighborhood! Zoom in more and you’ll see your house, showing which car was parked in the driveway when Google last took the picture! Well, this morning my brain went into Google Earth mode when I read one of my favorite verses. 

The LORD passed by before him (Moses) and proclaimed: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,  keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished…” Exodus 34:6-7a

I think I’ve typically read this verse as an “overview”, so to speak, of God, describing in general terms how God’s character has been displayed towards generations since the beginning of time. Every time I read this verse I am in awe with just how wonderful our God is. And this morning was no exception, although I also thought, “God was proclaiming who He is! Every bit of Him can be described with these words. That’s God’s DNA! These words that describe Him could be found in every single cell of His being!” (Of course, since God is spirit, He doesn’t have DNA as such, but go with me!) Take the tiniest of God’s cells…any cell…and put it under a microscope and look at the DNA. There it is! That’s God: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

So why my enthusiasm as I rode this odd train of thought? Because Holy Spirit then fine tuned my thinking—away from thinking in general terms about God’s attitude and dealings with  generations—millions of unnamed people in a given time period.  My brain went into Google Earth mode and I zoomed in.

Down through history, God has actively been merciful, loving, slow to anger, and faithful generation after generation to those who walked with Him. Had He not been, there would have been very few survivors! That’s who He is. But “zoom in” to separate out in our minds each different generation that has ever lived, all the way forward to our grandparents’ generation, our parents’, and finally ours. Now if you keep zooming in on whatever “Google Earth” image of your generation you’re seeing from the outer limits of your brain, you’ll eventually zero in on yourself. That is how amazing God is. In any given second He can see an entire planet, observe what’s happening on every continent, and in each village or city, while at the same time see you…see me!

Sure, you may only be one of the 8 billion people currently inhabiting this planet, but to God, you are seen, you are cherished, you matter! And with every “cell” of His being, God’s very nature is actively engaged, wanting to reveal Himself to you.There is not a moment in the day when God is not being…well…Himself in your life. He’s God, after all. So right now He is being the compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, full of love-for-you God that He is. It’s no different for you than for me, because just as your DNA doesn’t change from one cell to the next, God’s nature doesn’t change from one generation to the next, nor from one person to the next. He said “I Am who I Am”, and He is…through and through! Aren’t you glad?