"The trouble is, Aunt Elizabeth and I have different Gods, that is all. Everybody has a different God, I think. Aunt Ruth's, for instance, is one that punishes her enemies--sends 'judgments' on them. That seems to me to be about all the use He really is to her. Jim Cosgrain uses his to swear by. But Aunt Janey Milburn walks in the light of her God's countenance, every day, and shines with it."
Last Sunday, our pastor was talking about how people create their own version of God that suits them best. Gracie had just read the above passage in Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery and made a connection with what he was saying. I thought it was very fitting!
God has many attributes, and one cannot be taken without the other. He is loving, but he is also just. He is patient, merciful, and gracious. But He is also wrathful, righteous, and holy and cannot tolerate sin. There are so many other attributes of God that I have not mentioned. We cannot love a God we don't know. God wants us to get to know Him and ALL of his attributes and not fit Him into a box that benefits us. We find out who God is when we read the Bible and spend time with Him. When we do that, He is faithful to reveal himself to us!