Read | John 3:16-21
Judging people solely by actions can lead to inaccurate conclusions. Have you ever longed to look inside someone’s heart to understand what he’s really like and what his motivations and beliefs are?
Of course, we need never question God’s motives; divine righteousness requires that He do the right thing in every circumstance. Yet the Lord wants us to have an ever-deepening personal relationship with Him, which does necessitate our knowing His heart. To make that possible, our Father has revealed Himself through His Word.
But not everyone reads the Bible. As a result, we live in an age of misinformation about who God is, and confusion over His character, forgiveness, and gift of eternal security leads many to disregard Him.
If you want to understand God’s heart, look at the cross, where both His justice and mercy are demonstrated. The Father is perfectly holy; therefore, His just and fitting sentence for sin is eternal separation from Him (Matt. 25:41). However, He desires fellowship with man. So how does a holy, just God interact with sinful, rebellious human beings? He prepares a perfect, sinless substitute to bear not only mankind’s guilt but also the punishment each one of us deserves. Christ’s death made it possible for us to be declared no longer guilty—our sin debt has been paid in full, and that payment is applied on our behalf when we receive Jesus as Savior.
God’s justice demanded that His Son undergo the worst punishment possible: separation from the Father. Jesus’ sacrifice led to the greatest blessing—that God’s mercy could be poured out on us.
