Love reset!

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” Psalm 89:14

This is how God rules, both in heaven and on earth. Psalm 89 was written during a national crisis. During the Babylonian exile of Isrealites, when the earthly king had failed and God’s promises seemed broken. The psalmist is stating a fact in history that kings built their thrones on military might, wealth, or political alliances, all of which could crumble. But God’s sovereignty rests on unchanging moral perfection.

Righteousness says God always does what is absolutely right. He never cheats, exploits, or bends the rules. And Justice means God actively makes things right. He defends the righeous, punishes evil, and restores order. God’s character is the bedrock of his rule, which is unshakable. Even when life feels chaotic, his governance is not arbitrary, whimsical, or corrupt. “Love and faithfulness go before you.”
So we have these attributes of God. Righteousness, justice, love and faithfulness in God. And God never has to sacrifice one attribute for another. Because this is God’s character, you can trust his decisions and his promises.

On sunday, we all admitted that if someone breaks the law, a good judge cannot simply say, “It’s no big deal, I’ll pretend it never happened.” If the judge did that, they would no longer be a fair or good judge.
So, how did God saved us without breaking his own rules of fairness and justice. God did not ignore our wrongs, nor did he abandon us; instead, Jesus paid the price for our mistakes so God could be both completely fair and completely forgiving to anyone who trusts Him.

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood, to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:25-26

God sent Jesus to take the payment for our mistakes. As deacribed in the Bible, life is in the blood, and giving life is the highest cost for wrong actions. Jesus willingly paid that cost on the cross so we don’t have to. We don’t earn this gift; we simply accept and trust it through faith.

​”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

So you see, God didn’t have to pause his love so he could be just, and he didn’t have to tone down his justice so he could love us. Love is actually what drove him to the cross in the first place! True love can’t just ignore wrong or pretend damage doesn’t exist; it cares enough to fix it. At the cross, God didn’t make a compromise; he showed us that His love and his justice are doing the exact same thing: defeating sin and rescuing us.

Kay Alli