5 Attributes Of God That Mankind Should Emulate And Demonstrate
It is God’s desire that we continue to know Him and emulate His ways, for He is perfect and without fault. As we look into his many magnificent attributes, we choose the top 5 that are worth emulating and demonstrating in our lives today.
From God’s love, faith, and wisdom - people see these as the best qualities that mankind can possess. Every day, we are challenged to become more like Him. His best traits and qualities have the power to change not only our lives but our hearts and our faith.
Here are the attributes that inspire us to make that change in our lives:
God is Loving
“For this is how God loved the world…”
Pope Francis said that God is love, and it is only through loving that we can reach love. In 1 John 4:8, we are reminded that whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. He is the epitome of a love that knows no bounds. Love is a core aspect of God’s character, His person.
A response from Got Questions goes, “In love, God does not force Himself on anyone. Those who come to Him do so in response to His love. In love, God shows kindness to all. God is the perfect example of true love. Amazingly, God has given those who receive His Son Jesus as their personal Savior the ability to love as He does, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
As cliché as it sounds, love really makes the world go round. Without it, the world is deemed an empty place. More than ever, we need to act out of love - and that may mean looking out for our neighbor, fully committing to a relationship, being kind to one and all, and outpouring the love that we keep in our hearts and letting it embrace someone who needs it most.
We can love because we were born out of God’s love.
Read more on Got Questions to look at how the Bible describes love and the ways in which God is the essence of love.
God is Faithful
“God is faithful, and we are called to walk by faith and not by sight.”
In Kirstyn Mayden’s article, “5 Ways God Is Faithful When Life Doesn't Feel Fair”, she says that despite going through a season of rejection, loss, grief, or uncertainty…we should not be discouraged because God’s faithfulness will never waver.
“Despite the evolving and unstable seasons that life brings, we are called to trust God. Through times of joy and tribulation, God’s faithfulness remains consistent and steadfast. Life can be hard, challenging, and seem unfair. When things do not go according to our plans, we become frantic, but God remains faithful.”
God provides us so much inspiration, peace of mind, strength, and hope. As He remains faithful, we need to learn to depend on Him, pray fervently to Him, cast our cares on Him, and surrender our hearts to Him.
Read more about the ways that God will remain faithful in your life in Bible Study Tools.
God is Gracious
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.”
According to Millard Erickson in his book Christian Theology, "Grace is another attribute that is part of the manifold of God's love. By this, we mean that God deals with his people not on the basis of their merit or worthiness, what they deserve, but simply according to their need; in other words, he deals with them on the basis of his goodness and generosity."
God gives us good things out of His goodness, without expecting anything in return. He extends us favor, mercy, and kindness even when we least deserve it.
God shows us grace every time. Despite our disobedience, God is gracious in our times of need. We can extend grace to others in need, especially when they have hurt us. It is God’s desire for us to be there for each other, to show kindness and mercy toward others.
Read more about how God’s grace saves us in All About God.
God is Compassionate
“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
In First15’s devotional, it says “The love of your heavenly Father is steadfast and immovable. His compassion for you is more sure than the very ground you walk on. And what’s more, your God’s compassion is tethered together with his grace. God’s love is foundationally different from the love of others. In a world founded on the notion of works and rewards, cause and effect—God wants to build your foundation on his unconditional compassion.”
Compassion is hardly experienced when we see the world through the lens of indifference and apathy. Sometimes, our love and acceptance of each other have little to do with grace and compassion but based on worldly successes and achievements. This also very much applies to how we think we measure up whenever we feel unloved. Thankfully, our God is not of this world and sees us all through a different lens.
Read more about how God promises His compassion in First15’s devotional.
God is Forgiving
“...forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Why does God continue to forgive our sins?
In David Orrison’s Grace From My Heart, he shares that “It may surprise you to learn that the Lord forgives our sins for Himself. He is holy and will not tolerate the presence of sin. He loved us and wanted us to be reconciled to Himself but in order for us to be in His presence, we have to be clean. Not only does He wash away our sins at the time of salvation, but He continues to wash away our sins through sanctification for the rest of our earthly existence.”
Sin has its worldly consequences, but we can trust that there is no sin on your account with God. As much as we are forgiven, we are also capable of forgiving others because God forgave us first. Forgiveness is God’s ultimate language of love.
Read more about forgiveness and God’s continuing work in our lives in every way in Grace From My Heart.
Discover God’s attributes in a deeper way.