God is an extremist

God is an extremist.

Thinking of God in extremes is not such a bad thing.

Anything that we can imagine Him doing, He can do it to the extreme. His thoughts, words and actions are beyond our comprehension. They are extreme. His control of the universe. His concern for us. His direction of history. His plan for my life.

I can learn about these things. I can try to understand God's thoughts. I can try to understand His actions in history and in my life. I can try to understand His Word. But I am limited by my humanness. Anything that I can comprehend, God is beyond that. He is extreme.

God is an extremist.

God is an extreme judge. He knows everything that happens. He knows the motives of the heart. He knows the details. He can not be tricked by anything or anyone. He knows the rules. He rewards and judges perfectly. He is an extreme judge.

God is an extreme lover. He knows what is going on in my heart and loves me anyway. He knows about my past and loves me completely. He knows what I'm going to do today and promises to love me all day. And tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after every day. He is an extreme lover.

Can God be an extreme judge and an extreme lover at the same time?

He is. His character demands it. His Word proclaims it.

If God were not an extreme judge, would His love really mean anything? If He were not able to know everything and pass judgment on everything in my life, could He really love me extremely?

If God were not an extreme lover, His justice would be cruel. If He were to judge according to what I deserve, He would not show His love.

His extreme justice and His extreme love fit perfectly together. He knows all there is to know about me. He knows the good, the bad and the ugly. Yet He chooses to love me. Not just tolerate me, but love me.

In a passage that we already looked at, God reveals His attributes of extreme love and extreme judgment.

“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation'" (Exod 34:6-7).

God does not contradict Himself by being merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy, forgiving and punishing sin. Because He is all of that and does all of that to the extreme.

If God landed anywhere below 100% in any of those areas, He wouldn't be God.

If He were only merciful 99.99% of the time, He wouldn't be merciful.

If He were only truthful 99.99% of the time, He wouldn't be truthful.

If He only punished sin 99.99% of the time, He wouldn't be just.

We may think that justice and love are contradictory, but that is only based on our limited experience. We've never been loved by someone who knows everything about us. We've never been judged by someone who loves us extremely.

God is an extremist.

And that's a good thing.

Someone's watching

God knows and is in control of what is happening and is going to happen in the world.

In Daniel 11-12, battles of great princes and kings with their mighty armies are prophesied. The prophecy includes the victor of the conflicts. the events neither surprise Him, nor go beyond His control.

The kings rise to power, but are defeated. Even the great king who appears to have the world at his feet will come to his end, with none to help him (Daniel 11:35).

In Revelation 2-3, Christ gives messages to local churches. "I know your works..." Christ knows what's going on in the churches. The good and the bad. Nothing is hidden or glossed over. He will judge and reward accordingly.

Psalm 139 praises God because He knows about individuals. He knew me before I was conceived. He knows my thoughts before I think them. My words before I speak them. My actions before I do them.

Nothing is beyond His comprehension. Nothing escapes His watchful eye. Nothing is too great for Him.

And because God is a loving sovereign, I know that He is in control of these events - in the world, in my church and in my life - using them to fulfill His purpose in my life.

My response is to trust Him.

Easier said than done.

Always God's Mercy

Daniel, the prophet in the captivity, read Jeremiah, the prophet who wrote in the final years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity. Close to 70 years had passed since Jeremiah penned those words. As Daniel read, he discovered why Jerusalem was in shambles and God's people had been scattered.

It was because they had sinned. Repeatedly. For generations. They had ignored God's prophets. They had rebelled. They chose to do evil. They turned aside from God's law. They had sinned against God. They had done wickedly.

Daniel describes God as great, awesome, keeping His covenant, loving steadfastly, righteous, merciful, forgiving, the great deliverer with a great name.

God is the complete opposite of His people.

Israel had sinned and received what they deserved. Now Daniel is praying that God would look upon them in mercy.

"For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy" (Daniel 9:18b).

It wasn't that Daniel thought they had been punished long enough. It wasn't because he thought they had cleaned up their act. It wasn't because they were trying harder to do a better job.

Daniel's plea was based solely on God's mercy.

No matter how much I confess, repent and change my ways, I will always be dependent on God's mercy.

I will never change enough to be deserving of God's forgiveness, grace, mercy and love.

It's always God's mercy.

Mercy toward me = Mercy toward others

Ever wonder how we should live in these difficult days?

Jude wrote to believers, warning them of the evil actions of false teachers that had appeared. He wrote as if he were in the last days - about 2000 years ago!

Among the instructions he gave for dealing with false teachers, he encourages mercy three times.

21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

"Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life." Anticipate the return of Christ, remembering that it's because of His mercy that we have eternal life. It's not because of anything that we have done or deserve. We can't really comprehend the vastness of His mercy in saving us. The full extent of the mercy of the Lord in saving us will be revealed when we meet Him in heaven.

While we're waiting for that revelation of mercy, we can be merciful to others.

"Be merciful to those who doubt." Come alongside a doubter. Answer his questions. Don't condemn, but show mercy. Remember that  we've been shown mercy way beyond what we deserve.

"To others show mercy, mixed with fear." Mercy may require more action than just answering questions. We may actually need to pull someone out of a life of sin. Our fear of the consequences of what will happen to them if they remain in their sin should move us toward a merciful rescue. Often we're more motivated by our fear of what they will think of us. We need to think more of the results of our lack of action. Remember the path that we had been on before Jesus in His mercy snatched us.

Because Jesus has shown mercy to me, I can be merciful to others. Because Jesus will reveal His mercy in the future, I can be showing mercy to others.

Is this all there is?

High school graduation. College. Seminary. Doctoral studies.

Marriage. Babies. Teens.

Teaching. Pastoring. Counseling. Discipling.

Building a house. Grandkids. Retirement.

Is this all there is to life?

Solomon did all these things to the nth degree. He had the resources to take them all to the extreme. He had limitless money. He had wisdom. He had the time. He could do what he wanted when he wanted and as much as he wanted.

He built houses and gardens. He had parties with live bands. He had 1000 women at his beck and call. He had peace and prosperity.

But did that satisfy?

Vanity of vanities. A chasing after the wind. Someone else will inherit it and they'll waste it. What a pointless life.

What was his conclusion?

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." (Ecclesiates 12:13-14)

God gives meaning to this meaningless life. He gives purpose. He tells us how to find satisfaction.
"Fear God and keep His commandments." It's only in obedience to God that the tasks of each day will bring any benefit.

Why?

Because God will judge and reward accordingly. He knows what I say, think and do. He is impartial. He can't be swayed.

And His rewards are much greater than a diploma or a fat retirement account.