The Story of Godনমুনা

‘The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.’ Genesis 6:5-6 (ESV)

God is both merciful and just. Some people tend to only preach that God is merciful and quick to forgive sin, but they forget to tell people that He is also incredibly just, and he cannot stand evil. When reading through this passage, we have to remember that God made human beings in pure love, so ‘it grieved him to his heart’ that people had become so evil and corrupt. When you examine your heart, are you grieved by some of its intentions? I am sometimes shocked by some of the intentions of my heart. Whenever I experience such conviction, I am reminded of the fact that though my flesh is weak and sinful, the reason I’m able to confront my own sin head-on is because of the Holy Spirit’s presence within me. It is through this conviction of sin by God that I am able to be conformed to the image of Christ every day. Back in Genesis 3, we see God stationing the cherubim in front of the tree of life so that no one could eat of its fruit. God himself bore the consequences of our sin, so that we could finally eat from the tree of life and live forever at peace with him. This is the ultimate picture of the marriage of God’s mercy and judgement.

Question:

Do you view God more strongly in light of one or the other of these two qualities of his, rather than both? Take some time in prayer to reflect on the root of this view. Ask God to help you see his mercy and justice more clearly.