The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
“Well, that’s just my opinion.” It’s easy to fall into the trap of evaluating a point of view based on who expresses it. It’s easy to question actions based on the identity of the person who did something. We hear occasionally that the different persons of the Trinity have different attitudes. The Father is the God of judgment, the Son is the God of grace, the Spirit is . . . well, we don’t seem to certain about that. In John 5:30, Jesus says that there is a unified will of God. Jesus does not operate on his own. He is not some sort of loose cannon, flying uncontrollably across the deck. He is not a maverick who overthrows God’s will to condemn the world. The Godhead has no secret agenda. The Lord has been consistent in his plan from the very beginning.
What is God’s will? He desires to judge with righteous judgment. He loves the world and calls all people to the forgiveness and grace which they will only ever find in Christ. God’s will is stable and steadfast. He is full of mercy and grace.
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