The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth · Nicky and Pippa Gumbel

Day 103: What is God Like?

April 13, 2026·13 min·1 clip

A six-year-old drawing God tells her teacher, 'They will in a minute'—how does the Bible reveal God's true nature?

The episode begins with a question about God's nature, using a story of a child drawing God to introduce the theme. It then reads Psalm 45, highlighting verses that describe a king anointed with grace and justice. The writer of Hebrews interprets this psalm as referring to Jesus, showing one of the clearest New Testament cases where Jesus is called God. This connects to Jesus' statement that seeing him is seeing the Father. The episode moves to Luke 15, where Jesus tells the parable of the Prodigal Son. It narrates the younger son's request for inheritance, his wasteful living, and his eventual return. The father's compassionate embrace upon seeing his son from afar is detailed, emphasizing God's unconditional love. The cultural context is explained: in Middle Eastern tradition, such a request was outrageous, but the father breaks tradition out of love. The son's realization and repentance are described, along with the father's actions of giving him a robe, ring, and sandals, and throwing a feast. The older son's anger and the father's plea to him are noted, leaving the story on a cliffhanger. The episode then shifts to Old Testament readings from Deuteronomy 19 and 20, discussing justice, evidence requirements, and retribution. It cautions against directly applying ancient Israel's laws today, citing Professor Oliver O'Donovan's view that it would be unchristian. Jesus' teaching to turn the other cheek is contrasted with the 'eye for an eye' principle. The episode concludes with a prayer thanking God as King Jesus, loving Father, and holy judge, and a reflection on losing and finding things, paralleling the parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son.

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