Looking for good Bible verses to reflect on, or wondering why the Bible matters for your everyday life? Check out our verse reflection below. It’s one of our simple devotions, great for getting started reading the Bible, and hearing how Scripture is making an impact in the lives of other believers!
Why God’s Judgment Is Good
For many of us, “God’s Judgment” brings up a knee-jerk response. We think doom, despair, or in some cases—inescapable guilt.
But we can move beyond our baggage and take a fresh look at the gift of God’s judgment, and how it’s actually really good news. Join us!
Scripture: “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation’” (Exodus 34:6-7 ESV).
Written by Daniel Ryan Day
My name is Daniel, which means “God is my judge.” Scary, isn’t it? Or at least it could be. God not only knows what I do and say, but what I think and imagine. Eeek!!!
But God’s judgement shouldn’t be scary, because he’s not just any judge—he’s merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Even God “visiting the iniquity of the fathers,” could be translated as “investigating” or “remembering”—the love of this merciful God pursues all remnants of sin until they are entirely removed and healed.
The satisfaction of the promise of Exodus 34 is found in Jesus. God the Son, came to earth and became a man who was tempted by bad things like we are, but didn’t give in. And then, Jesus chose to die to heal sin and fix brokenness—so the wrongs of the whole world could be made right. In other words, evil has consequences, but our merciful and loving judge took the eternal consequences for us, and offers freedom and healing instead of condemnation and death.
Why It Matters
Our Judge is merciful, gracious, patient, and loving. He not only invites us to find forgiveness for the things we’ve done, but also calls us to be his agents of mercy and love to the world. Who can you be a little more patient with today? Are you tempted to be harsh with anyone? How can you show them grace instead?
We believe that simple devotions like this verse reflection help us to connect with God, so we’ve curated a whole stash of short Christian devotions. Check them out here!
