Dear Faith Family, 

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?, (Romans 9:22-24). 

My wife watched anxiously as I combined foods that, in her mind, couldn’t be consumed together.  Apparently, there are culinary clues that at times escape my appetite.  “You can’t eat that with that!”  I think those were her words, words laced with the conflict that my diet had produced. 

Conflict.  Now there’s an accurate depiction of my inward thoughts this morning.  The information diet (you know – inbox media, social media, mainstream media) served up over the last twenty-four hours has apparently disregarded some culinary clues and created some mental indigestion. 

Choking on the information, my heart vacillates between the power of God and the compassion of God.  Between the wrath of God and the mercy of God.  “God, please powerfully show up and squelch the arrogant foolishness of humanity.  Oh, and God, please show up and pour out your gentle mercy on the broken ignorance of humanity.”  I confess, the two appear to be in conflict.   

Tums or Rolaids?  The power of God or the compassion of God?  Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…?  Like, which is the appropriate response?  Yes.  Yes, to the power of God.  Yes, to the compassion of God.  What if His unlimited power is on display in His compassionate mercy?  What if His faithful compassion is on display in His powerful wrath?  Seems to me that His powerful wrath and His compassionate mercy beautifully collided in His Son, our Christ! 

What loving Father doesn’t take pity on His children and also rise up to protect His children from that which opposes Him?  “God, grant both the desire for and the reality of Your compassionate wrath and Your powerful mercy not only in the lives that I read about, but in my own, (arrogantly foolish and broken ignorant) life!” 

At the Cross(road) of His powerful wrath and His compassionate mercy, 
Pastor Karl