The way you read and understand the Bible depends 100% on this one thing: how you view God. I thought about that this morning because my friend Amanda and I do a devotional together and currently, we're focusing on the book of Romans. Right now we're in chapter two and starting at Romans 1:18 all the way to verse 32, the book of Romans gets really tough.

If you don't have a right view of God, it is impossible to read those words without feeling condemned or like God is an angry judge just waiting to get you.

Here is how you need to understand the Lord: God is a loving, compassionate father. That means any time there is a harsh word in Scripture, it is for your protection and your blessing. Because God is a loving Father, He will never require anything of you that is not for your flourishing. Not ever. You can take that to the bank!

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah chapter 30:18 and it says,

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" - Isaiah 30:18

That word "longs" is a feeling that you feel in your whole being. It's wanting something so bad that you hurt and your stomach twists. God longs to be gracious to you. The verse later says, "therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion for the Lord as a God of justice and bless it are all who wait for him!" If you don't come to the Scriptures with that as your picture of God, you will not get everything out of them that you could.

Let's remind ourselves that in the same way we love our children, just imagine how much more God loves us. God as a compassionate, loving Father. Look at Him that way and it'll transform the way you look at Scripture.