Yes, God will judge his people, but oh how compassionately He’ll do it. (Deuteronomy 32:36 The Message)
Fear Not… Then Be Compassionate
One of my favorite teachers in Middle School was Mr. Frank Huyser. He taught history, and had a reputation for being a very tough grader. Often history is graded on a ‘close enough’ basis, unlike math, or science. But Mr. Huyser filled our papers with red ink when we were wrong.
But his red ink was not only declaring inaccuracy. He also explained the correct answer, and encouraged us in our efforts. Somehow, Mr. Huyser almost made us feel good for our efforts, however wrong our results were.
In that way, Mr. Huyser was a Godly teacher. Not only for teaching a Biblical view of history, but he copied God’s methods.
Because God judges His people, but does it compassionately.
He does not ignore our sin, or pretend that our evil is somehow good. He judges with accuracy. He judges with awareness. He judges with a hatred of all Sin.
But He is also compassionate. He teaches us, in His Word, why our sin is sinful. And the difficult days in which we experience the disciplining effects of our sins are also good. Christians are often aware that God’s hand is a loving hand.
But most of all, while we do experience His discipline as our sins have effects, He does not choose to punish us. Instead, He showed (and shows) His compassion by punishing Jesus on the cross. This is, of course, the core of the gospel.
But rather than comfortably bask in that peace, it should give us reason to do likewise. Our humble confidence in God’s grace, rather than fear, regarding our hope of heaven leads us to act like God in this way.
We can mirror God’s compassion when as we encounter others. We must call sin, Sin, but with understanding. We must call sin, Sin, but also declare the hope of the gospel. We must call sin, Sin, but also weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)
Fear not, then be compassionate