Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Mercy and Consequences

As Christians we speak of grace often but what about
justice? Our God is a loving and merciful God but He's
also a just God. And sometimes a just God lets us face the
consequences of our sins. Just because we ask for
forgiveness does that mean God should withhold the
consequences of our sins? I think not.

It's easy to talk about how much God loves us. However,
it's not so easy to discuss the narrow path God wants us
take. In order for there to be grace and mercy, there
first has to be an acknowledgement of sin. Ironically,
by singularly focusing on grace and leaving out the
consequences for our sins we are making mercy and
grace harder. If you don't know what you are doing
wrong, how can you ask for grace? Should a convicted
criminal be granted clemency by our legal system without
ever acknowledging what he or she did wrong?

Yes, God loves you immensely. He sent his son, Jesus
Christ, to die on the cross for you. He is a loving and
merciful God. But He's also a God of consequences. Only
an unloving God would let his children do whatever they
want without any sort of consequences.