majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 9:27,
"Those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring
them here and kill them in front of me."
In the parable of the minas, Jesus casts himself as the man of noble
birth who "went to a distant country to have himself appointed king
and then to return." In the account he tells of subjects who hated the
man of noble birth and sent a delegation to after him to say they
didn't want the man to be their king. The man, having been made king
nonetheless, exacted this horrific judgment upon those who rejected
him.
God is love. We are told that countless time in Scripture. In 1 John
4:8 and 16 we are told "God is love." We are told the crowning
expression of God's love is found in his sending his Son to die a
miserable death on that cross to pay the penalty for our sins. "For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…" John 3:16.
However, love is not the only defining characteristic of our Creator
God. "Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God…" Romans
11:22a. God is both kind and stern. God exercises both kindness and
justice. We read in Jeremiah 9:24, "I am the Lord, who exercises
kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I
delight..." It is this aspect of the Lord's justice that is pictured
in the sternness of the man of noble birth who had those that rejected
him slaughtered.
This very same Son of God who came to "seek and to save what was lost"
by offering himself as a willing sacrifice to make a way for us into
his family is the very same Lord of whom we are told, "He treads the
winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." Revelation 19:15.
Neither of these characteristics of our Lord overshadow the other.
Both reside within him in bold and passionate expression. The love of
God is beyond our wildest imagination, just as his justice is
horrific. The parable of the minas is a great reminder of this.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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