All of It All the Time

Isaiah 30:18 “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

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What is God like? This is a question that many have asked for ages and ages. Because of His greatness there is no way that the human mind can comprehend all that God is. But in the Bible God has chosen to reveal certain things to be true about Himself.

The attributes that God discloses about Himself in His word are always true all the time. As we seek to know Him through study, observation, and prayer we can begin to understand, with the Holy Spirit’s help, more of Who God is and how He responds in different situations.

Humans are constantly changing. When you were smaller there were times when I was very patient  when you did things that were wrong. Unfortunately there were other times when I was tired or stressed that I wasn’t as patient. The hammer of justice fell hard without any room for mercy. This changeableness is not true of God. What and Who He is He is all the time without fail!

God is a God of mercy and a God of justice. He is never more merciful one day and more just another day. He never wavers with moods or attitudes. Though it is hard for our minds to comprehend, He is always completely just and completely merciful.

I recently recognized a perfect example of these two attributes as I was studying the story of the crucifixion. A just God must punish sin.  To allow sin to go unpunished would be against His nature. How then in the midst of a corrupt world could He show His mercy without going against His righteous nature? The answer is found at the cross.

Christ satisfied justice by taking the punishment for sin in the sinner’s place. Yet while He was hanging on the Roman tree He satisfied mercy by providing a way for the guilty to go free from deserved spiritual death. This was exemplified when He offered the hope of paradise to the believing  criminal hanging next to Him. Only moments later, His mercy shone when, in the moment of His deepest pain, He called to the Father, “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” He demonstrated complete justice and complete mercy at the same time.

I am grateful that God is all He says He is all the time. For the believer there is no need to fear a just God when we take His offer of mercy. The penalty for sin has been paid and He longs to be gracious and show compassion. God reveals this about Himself in His word and it is a comforting God-Fact you can rely on.

Love,

Mama