By David ReayMonday 12 Oct 2020LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. (NLT)
In ancient times, people were warned against devoting themselves to human made idols. Golden calves and sacred poles were seen as a threat to worship of the one true God. Nowadays we are not likely to succumb to such temptations. Yet there are many in our Christian churches who serve an idol, usually a false imagining of God rather than a false image of him.
One such false God is a sentimental old chap who with a wink and a nudge overlooks our wrongdoing. But another disturbingly common one is that of a God just itching to hurl vicious thunderbolts at those who displease him. Or a God who might have sent Jesus to offer salvation but who constantly frowns on those he has saved and demands that they try harder.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not like that. He is, if you like, biased towards mercy. He offers mercy because he longs for people to be saved not condemned. He offers mercy because his just judgement against human wrongdoing was satisfied on the cross. His mercy is not doled out according to some miserly ration book. It is overflowing, generous, unceasing.
And he does not adopt some purse lipped disapproval of the stumbling fallibility of his followers. He sees us as those united with Jesus, as those forgiven and offered new life however falteringly they may appropriate it. That is the God we honour, not the product of our fearful imagination but the God reflected in the loveliness of Jesus.
Blessings
David