The Scandalous Mercy of God
2019년 9월 14일It’s not enough to say you believe in God. You must also confess the kind of God you believe in. Too many so-called Christians believe in an angry, judgmental and punishing God. Although such images are found in scripture, they aren’t particularly Christian. That is, they do not reflect the God revealed by, in and through Jesus.
Jesus was particularly fond of sinners because he understood they needed God the most. That is why he hung out with tax collectors, prostitutes and other sinners. (And probably because they were more fun to be around than the self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees.) But this is exactly why the “”holy” people complained about Jesus. They thought they deserved God’s love more than sinners did. But they failed to understand, love isn’t about deserving. It’s about receiving. Sinners knew they needed God; the self-righteous thought they could get to heaven by themselves.
This is why, in response to the Pharisees’ complaints, Jesus gives us the perfect parable of God’s mercy: the Prodigal Son. By all account, the youngest son was indeed a spoiled brat who disrespected his father and his family. He even squandered his inheritance on prostitutes. He only returned home because he was hungry. And the father, beyond all reason, welcomes him back with open arms, not because he deserves it but because the father loves his sons. Both of them.
The older brother, for all his outward filial piety, didn’t understand his father anymore than his brother did. He thought he had earned his father’s love, never realizing his father loved him all along. Which character are we? Do we realize God loves us in spite of our sins and rewards us—and everyone—equally despite our prayers?