“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:7)
There is a graciousness in God’s love that amazes us. We braced for judgment, but mercy came. We thought perhaps that the Lord did not grasp the full extent of our criminal behavior against His laws; but He did.
What God wants us to grasp is that His nature is not like the nature of man. More often than not, man’s sense of justice is a caricature of God’s righteousness. God declares His righteousness when He shows mercy as well as judgment. When man tries to play God, he ends up being self-righteous, wanting everyone but himself to get their comeuppance. Without being tempered by God’s lovingkindness, man’s thirst for justice turns him into a cruel exactor of punishment, giving those who wrong him what he believes they deserve.
God’s thirst for justice never turns Him cruel. In the ages to come, those who have received His mercy will not only sing of His amazing grace, but of His incredible kindness.