God Is Both: The “And” We Keep Missing

Do We Really Know God?

Lately, I’ve been hearing a pattern in the questions people ask:

• Why is God mad at me?

• Why didn’t God show up when I needed Him?

• Why did that happen to me—but not them?

• Why does God seem silent, distant, or unfair?

Or worse… I hear His name used casually, bitterly, or in vain—as just another word in a sentence filled with anger or pain. Every time I hear these things, I ask myself the same question:

Do we actually know who God is—or have we been sold a version that never existed?

1. A God We’ve Misunderstood or Forgotten?

Some of us inherited a version of God that was incomplete. Others never had a picture of Him at all.

We were told He was loving—but feared He was angry.
We were told He forgives—but treated Him like He’s cold and distant.
We were told He’s powerful—but assumed He only uses that power for some, not all.

And in theory, we know God can be everything we need.

But in practice? We don’t always let Him be.

2. What If God Is “Both”?

Maybe we’ve tried to put God into categories. But He doesn’t live in one box. Let me suggest a reframe:

God is not either/or. He’s both/and.

• He is Father – the one who nurtures you like a child, and He is Friend – who wants to spend time with you just because.

• He is Lord – who leads with righteousness, and He is King – who reigns with justice and mercy.

• He is Savior – who redeems your soul, and He is Rescuer – who shows up when you fall (not if—when).

• He is Creator – who gave you life, and He is Receiver – who desires your whole heart in return.

Let the tension of that both/and settle into your thinking.

3. Maybe You’ve Been Missing the Whole Picture

Try writing your own list.

Finish this sentence: God is both _______ and _______.

You may start to realize how one-dimensional your image of Him has become. And with that realization, grace starts to expand.

Judgment quiets down. And your compassion for others starts to increase.

Because when you realize you need God just as much as they do—your posture changes.

4. We’re Not Better. We’re Just as Broken.

Sometimes we compare ourselves to those who seem worse off, as if our goodness gives us more favor or approval.

But the truth is—we’re all fallen. We all need rescue. We all need grace.

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

He didn’t just love the cleaned-up version of the world. He loved the entire world.

That means the messy, misunderstood, and morally bankrupt parts too.

• The addicts and the pastors.

• The saints and the scammers.

• The selfish, the broken, the angry, and the hypocrites.

He loves the ones who fall—and the ones who caused the fall.

5. His Love Is “And”

That verse didn’t say “some.” It said whoever.

Ouch. That includes the people we’d rather avoid.

• The liars.

• The cheaters.

• The abusers.

• The politicians who manipulate.

• The preachers who fall.

• The ones we think don’t deserve another chance.

Yes—them too. Because love that only loves the lovable… isn’t love at all.

6. The Answer to the Question: Is He God or Isn’t He?

The world loves to cancel, dismiss, or discard people. It praises the powerful and silences the hurting.

But God doesn’t do that.

He reaches low. He restores the broken. He is holy—and still willing to get in the dirt with you.

So the next time you ask “Is He really God?”

Remember this: He’s both.

To some, He already is.
To others, He’s still waiting to be.
The difference? Not who He is.
But how we choose to see Him.

Scripture Anchor for the Week:

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

He’s Both—So Bring Him All of You

If you’ve been holding back because you weren’t sure who God is, start today. Let Him be both the One who saves and the One who stays.

Let’s rediscover who God is—together.