For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 33:4-5)
By faith, we who serve the Almighty understand that everything He decrees is just and true whether it is perceived as good or bad. He has decreed that sin and disobedience results in curses which means, try as we might, mankind can’t do as we wish and avoid the inevitable result. Many unfortunate things happen in this world, a great number of them the consequence of mankind’s bad choices. Still, the Creator allows them to take their natural course. At times, it is difficult to understand why He permits certain things to happen, but in those times that we fail to see His purpose, the problem is with us, not Him. Everything He says and does is upright and true.
Because He alone is truly righteous, that means He is the only One authorized to judge the deeds of man in a righteous fashion. Thankfully His justice, though it can seem severe at times, is always — I repeat, always — tempered with mercy and kindness. If it were not so, there would be no world left to judge. So even when He corrects us, He is loving and kind, whether or not it feels that way to us. As children, none of us liked being corrected especially when it was with a belt or paddle. Nonetheless, there were situations that merited more aggressive methods of correction in order to get our attention, hopefully administered with love and consideration for our best interests. With our Heavenly Father, there is no question as to His intent — it is always for our good. The writer of Hebrews said:
“We had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” (Hebrews 12:9-10).
The point is that, as the psalmist said, all the LORD says and does is right and true. Therefore, He wishes to instill these same virtues in us by prompting us — which sometimes includes chastening us — to appreciate and exhibit these attributes. In other words, all we say and do should be upright and true; like Him we should love righteousness and justice and should demonstrate kindness to everyone we encounter. We may not be able to emulate all of God’s attributes, such as His Omnipotence, but we can strive to reflect His goodness and righteousness, for these are things He loves and desires to see evident in our lives. As it is written, “I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight” (Jeremiah 9:24).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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