"Consider the kindness and sternness of God." I don't know if I've ever heard that from a pulpit. Perhaps its because we don't believe it.
Our society teaches tolerance and anti-sternness. To look at the stern acts of God and hold them up is to invite scorn and be called bigoted, backwards and uneducated. How can a society steeped in tolerating everything but standing for nothing comprehend the mercy that comes from boundaries? God's sternness is part of his boundary drawing around his kingdom.
As a dad, I want to be both kind and stern. I want my kids to remember me as loving, caring and patient. I also want them to be blessed by my stern drawing of limits that protect and guide them.
Kindness and sternness; they seem to be two sides of the same coin. If I don't have one, then do I really have the other? If I am not stern in demarcating boundaries, then am I truly kind? If I am not both stern and kind, then am I truly a follower of God?
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