Words from an old Charles Wesley hymn rest comfortably within my concept of God. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild ... Lamb of God ... Thou wast once a little child ... Thou art pitiful and kind, let me have Thy loving mind ... In thy gracious hands I am. This same Jesus though abrasively stormed through a religious temple, a crude but effective whip in His hand, as He lashed out against the defaming merchants. Before He leaves the scene, His response to Jewish leaders hints at sarcasm, much like the frequent tersely forthright words He addressed the leaders with throughout His earthly ministry, especially the smug Pharisees. His gentle kindness seemed to take a backseat too to the directness of His approach with those who ignored or excused their own sin. This contrasting picture of the Christ parallels the apparent intolerance of God in the Old Testament as He dealt with unrestrained idolatry, pagan practices, and the stench of His own people who allowed themselves to wallow in the filth of those around them. Psalm 29, majestic in its honoring of God, still describes Him far differently than Wesley did. "The God of glory thunders. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars ... strikes with bolts of lightning ... makes the barren wilderness quake ... twists mighty oaks and strips the forest bare."

 

The contrast we see is duplicated in the lives of believers. I am quick to pick up on and attempt to emulate, "be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving." The "be patient" part is harder. Isn’t every Christian suppose to be "just like me"? Aren’t the gentle characteristics of the Sacrificial Lamb, the consuming love of the Shepherd, the grace of the One who ate with sinners and gave dignity to women of defilement, and the quietness of the Father’s embrace – aren’t these to be realities in the life of every believer? Yes, and no. Contrary to popular opinion, God does fashion inherent differences into men and women. Men approach, deal with, and resolve many issues differently than I do, and differently than most other women. They think differently, relate differently, oppose differently, and even "rec-reate" differently. But even as women, the characteristics of basic personality types shaped by varying life experiences and teaching, create a uniqueness that defines us all differently. Some of us easily adapt to the Wesley concept of God, and in the testimony of our lives, that is the God we portray. But, the thundering God of glory is seen more quickly in others. Neither is more "right." Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. If God encourages patience with the "faults" of another, how much more does He desire our patience with those who simply approach life a little differently than we do?