beautiful

mercy and judgment. they are not opposites.

the church is always trying to find a balance between the wrathful God and the merciful one. Christians are either the ones who believe in a love everyone, forgive everyone God, or the God of hell and damnation.

but the beauty is that He is both. and neither. He does love everyone. and He does not take sin lightly. He forgives freely. and He requires repentance.

"He is shaking the world with mercy and judgment."

if He were not a God of judgment and justice He would not be a God of mercy.

because without the need for justice and judgment there can be no mercy. mercy is not helping people who are in need. that is compassion.

it was out of His compassion that Jesus healed the sick and fed the poor. it was because of His mercy that He died and took our sins on Himself and, more importantly, overcame death and rose again. because someone had to do it and we never could. someone had to bridge that uncrossable chasm between a sinful people and a sinless God.

if your friend doesn't owe you money, you are not being merciful by not demanding money from him. if he owes you $1,000, then to let that debt go is a huge act of mercy.

if a man has not committed a crime, the judge is not showing mercy by releasing him from prison. if he has committed a murder, then to spare his life is an act of mercy.

but it's not just that God forgave our sins. it's the fact that Jesus paid what I owe. He died the death i deserved. THAT is mercy.

it is because we owe God so much and deserve such harsh judgment that He is able to show us mercy.