Heartaches also exist because God tempers justice with mercy. If God operated on justice alone, man’s sin in Eden would have been justification for the destruction of the world. The very first sin would have ended all hope of eternal life. From Adam and Eve until this day, mankind chooses to sin. Sin brings heartache upon the world. But, God’s love is evident in that he allows this sinful world to stand. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God does not bring heartache upon anyone. We, through disobedience, bring heartache upon ourselves. Read the words of the risen Savior as recorded in Revelation 3:19. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” To chasten means, “To instruct through correction.” It is true that the Lord, motivated by love, may chasten or punish us when we have gone astray. However, we bring this corrective action upon ourselves. As parents, we understand that we do not chasten obedient children because it is not necessary. We punish or chasten our children only when they are disobedient. We do this in order to teach them the necessity of doing the right thing. Parental love demands that we correct our children when they are disobedient. When we have given our children rules by which to live, and we have instilled in them a set of principles and morals, and have set an example by our conduct, and they choose not to obey, their rebellion is not our fault. Because they have defied our rules, we could expel them from our homes and wash our hands of them, never allowing them to return under any circumstances. We could do that, but a loving parent would not do that. In love, we would discipline them. That discipline may mean that we must administer a serious punishment. The child, due to this punishment, may suffer, but he brought this punishment on himself.
When Christians succumb to sin, God could wash his hands of us. He could cast us out of his kingdom and never allow us to return under any circumstances. But, because God is love, he allows his straying children to be restored to him through repentance. Because he desires our repentance, God chastens us. We may suffer because of God’s chastisement, but this suffering and heartache is brought on by our disobedient actions.
God is love; don’t try to second-guess him. God is love; don’t try to judge him. God is love; don’t doubt his motivation.
