The Balance

In my last post, Sacrificial Victim, I mentioned God is interested in mercy and forgiveness, and in Him our default is grace.  I always like to consider the balance of God’s character.  In our human mind, with the boundaries of earthly reason and logic, we sometimes create false dichotomies.  We have a hard time understanding God’s nature and character because from our perspective we see opposing characteristics.  We believe one characteristic cannot exist with another.

“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! the Lord! a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, Keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but Who will by no means clear the guilty,” (Ex. 34:6-7a)

I love this explanation God gives of Himself, because imbedded we see love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness, yet in the same breath we see judgement, punishment and intolerance.

Our Father is an awesome God, One who makes us wonder. 

Jesus Himself, the perfect representation of God’s character, expressed in one instance that He had not come to judge (John 12:47), yet in another instance says He had come to judge (John 9:39).

As we understand the heart and purpose of Father, we realize these seeming dichotomies are all part of Who He is.  Under the banner of love, with mercy and grace, He exacts discipline and punishment.  And I am so, so thankful.

If we can truly grasp that God is a good, good Father, we see everything He does as an expression of His heart.  He is interested in repentance, redemption, deliverance, and inheritance.  If we can see every action according to this purpose, perhaps we would be less suspect of God.

As an illustration of God’s heart, I’d like to consider Joseph’s treatment of His brothers after they came to Egypt looking for food from Pharaoh.  If you remember, Joseph’s brothers despised Joseph for His vision, and wanted to kill him.  In the end, the brothers sold him into slavery.  God eventually fulfilled Joseph’s dream, and through him saved many lives. (Gen. 37-47)

When Joseph’s brothers came to him to buy food, the Bible says he treated them as if they were strangers and spoke roughly to them.  He accused them of being spies and having an unfriendly purpose. (Gen. 42:9)  It seems he was treating his brothers harshly, without grace.  He then put his brothers through a series of tests and trials before revealing himself and bestowing forgiveness, mercy and grace on his brothers and their families.

At first glance, I am tempted to believe Joseph was acting apart from God in his treatment of his brother, that he was taking vengeance out on them.  But the Bible says the Spirit of God was on Joseph, and that he was doing the work of God with God. 

As I considered these things, I remember God disciplines his sons (Heb. 12:6).  In His love for us, He rebukes us, even to the point of punishment, for the sake of repentance.  He then allows us to go through tests and trials, not to prove our faith to Him, but to ourselves.  We learn to walk in a new way, allowing our faith to arise into action, causing us to believe.

There was a young pastor that was going through a terrible trial.  He was walking through the most awful circumstances, things that no father should have to deal with.  As I cried out for mercy, my heart was screaming enough is enough!  I felt the Father’s loving rebuke:

“Who are You to question my treatment of my son?  What you call harsh and unfair I am using for salvation.  And not just for one, but many.”

Yes, our Father is a good, good Father.  Receive these words today, and may You believe in the reality of your own life.