“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 145:8
The hardest part of being a parent, I think, is making sure your children feel loved while establishing boundaries to keep them safe and help them navigate life. We want them to learn that their choices can have unwanted consequences, appropriate for their age and maturity. We want them to learn that the stove is hot, they need help crossing busy streets, etc. When they are little, we want them to slowly learn they can trust us to keep them safe.
We sometimes want to focus more on our loving God, rather than the holy, sovereign God who is both gracious and just. He is both, but judgment and wrath aren’t part of God’s character, they are responses that come from his character. Confronted by unholiness, a holy God responds. Confronted by extreme sin or evil, a righteous God responds.
When we see the evils of this world, we want justice and mercy. God’s hunger for right is so strong that he won’t stop until wrong is righted, and evil is no more.
The other side of God’s anger is mercy, which wants to give us everything we need to resist wrong and do what’s right. God’s perfect love and justice collided when Jesus died on the cross, resulting in eternal grace for those who believe. Without God’s righteous anger, we have no hope, no Gospel. Our heavenly Father’s anger or judgment assures us that all things will be made new.
As a parent, you love your children but at times need to discipline them. They have to learn what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior from loving, patient parents. In a greater way, God loves us, but he also disciplines us when we need it. Jesus’ sacrifice for the sins of the world is the proof God loves us, he took the judgment we deserve. However, God will not force anyone to go to heaven, it is our choice to follow him or reject him.
“He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9
Deb Hill
EFCC Staff