Most of us are familiar with today's attribute.  In fact, God's love is probably His most well-known characteristic!  But God's love goes far deeper than a general warm affection toward His creation.  His love is unending, sacrificial, and complete.  

John 3:16 sums up God's love perfectly:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (NKJV, emphasis added).

I am so excited about today's attribute:  God's longsuffering.  Longsuffering isn't a word a lot of people are familiar with anymore (in fact, as I'm typing this, my computer is telling me that I'm misspelling it because it's not in my computer's database).  Longsuffering can be translated as having patience throughout a lengthy trial, according to the online dictionary.

The longsuffering of the Lord has long intrigued me, probably because longsuffering is something that doesn't come naturally to me.  And I'm quite certain I'm not alone in that; longsuffering, or patience, is an area where many people struggle.  

I absolutely love the way God's many attributes dovetail and compliment one another in a beautiful kaleidoscope that reveals Himself to us in such a neat and detailed way! 

Yesterday, we looked at God's jealousy, an attribute that may rub us wrong on the surface.  But God can be righteously jealous because He is also just.  The online dictionary describes just as "behaving according to what is morally right and fair."  If we trust that God is morally right and fair - and we do - then we can rest assured that His jealousy is just.

When I was little, I didn't fully grasp the concept of infinity.  (Actually, I probably still don't!)  As I learned more about math and numbers, I gained greater clarity on the topic because I could see how someone could keep on counting forever and never reach an end.

In fact, math is an excellent way for our finite minds to get a small taste of how God can be infinite.  But numbers are infinite because the God who made them is infinite; that's why the creation helps us better understand the Creator.

How often do you think of God's holiness?  And how often do you live as though you serve a Holy God?  Although I try to remember God's holiness, I must admit that I don't always live my life as though God is holy.  I'm not diligent to root out my sin; somehow, some sins seem to be excusable and I don't ruthlessly fight to live a holy life the way I should.

But God's holiness should compel us to strive, with His help, to live a blameless life.

How often do you think about God being gentle?  While I frequently think about His greatness, His power, and His sovereignty, I usually forget that He is also gentle.  But this is a very important attribute to study because it balances His strength and might.

Let's see what Scripture has to say about God's gentleness:

• 2 Samuel 22:36 - " You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great" (NKJV).
• Matthew 11:29 - " Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (NKJV).

I've always found it fascinating that other world religions put their faith in dead people.  Muhammad is gone; Gandhi has passed away; Joseph Smith has died.  But Christianity is so vastly different.  We place our trust in the living, Eternal God, who was and is and is to come, who has no beginning and no end, who will never die.  Yes, Jesus Christ was crucified and died, but He rose again!!  

If there's something that doesn't come naturally to me, it's compassion.  Does that surprise you?  While I love being a cheerleader and encourager, when I see someone sick or injured, my first (very STRONG) inclination is to run as far in the opposite direction as possible.

Maybe it's my aversion to blood.  Maybe it's my phobia of all things vomit-related.  I don't know what triggers it, but you know I'm not the compassionate one in our family when a sick child comes to our bedroom door at night and asks for Daddy, not Mommy!  (I know, I know, that's very pathetic, but it's also very true.)

In my Californian pop-culture environment, I've sadly lost a bit of the weightiness of the word "awesome."  Where I live, the beach is considered awesome, the weather is awesome - almost anything that's even remotely pleasant is considered awesome.

So to say that God is awesome almost seems to imply that He's cool or neat. 

But the true definition of "awesome," according to the online dictionary, helps fill in what my culture is missing:  "extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear."

That's some pretty heavy stuff, isn't it?  

Earlier this summer, I sat down to list out the attributes of God.  I'd studied His attributes as a child, but aside from remembering the the triple "Omnicient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent" attributes, I couldn't recall most of the others.  While I don't remember exactly how many we studied when I was little, I somehow had the idea that there were 10 or 12 total.

As I began writing down all the attributes I could think of, I realized that there were far more than I had first thought.  I began hunting online for more of His attributes.  As my list continued to grow, I was surprised to realize how far off my original estimate of 10-12 truly was.  I continued searching, and as of this writing, my list is at 55, and I'm still adding to it.

Even though I've been a Christian for a long time and have studied God's Word in depth, this one study alone showed me just how little I truly know of our Great God.  I shared with Jon what I was learning, and his reply was excellent.  

"Isn't it nice to know that our capable Heavenly Father isn't confined to a short little list?"