Thoughts for another day

April 19, 2012

Today's verse: Job 37:23.  The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress. (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

The sins I commit, do they deserve a fitting punishment from God?  Consider this before answering; Adam sinned; his sin was disobedience to God; doing something He asked him not to.  Let's take an example of a child and his father; the father tells the child to not do something and that if he did it, he wouldn't be given dinner; yet the child does it.  Should the father punish the child?  Depends on the father you might say and that's exactly what we're on to here.  If the father is like God for whom a 'yes' means 'yes' and a 'no' means 'no' then although he loves the child, he would still punish, for he has to keep his word.

This brings us to the great subject of God's 'justice'.  Our God is a just God, He both rewards and punishes simply because He is just.  His nature or Who He is, demands that He provide justice, both for good and bad.  He has framed the rules and He abides by them; and all His creation except man, also abide by them.  This is because He is a God of order and within the framework of order, there can be no vacillation or confusion. 

Nevertheless, as our Scripture says, in His justice and righteousness, He does not oppress and this hints at how beautiful God is.  Consider this, justice demanded we die for our sins, but God met the needs of justice in His Son, who died for us, so we live; and what a death Jesus was subject to just so that we'll never have to go through such agony.   When we consider the depth of God's heart we see but love in it for us and we note that God subjects His justice to His mercy and His mercy comes flowing even before His gavel of justice falls on us.  Such is the extent of His love that even before we can smell the punishment for the sins we commit; He spreads His fragrance of mercy on us.  And it's so great a privilege for you and me to serve such a wonderful God.  Amen.