(10.) Our Accommodating God: His Judgments
(10.) Our Accommodating God: His Judgments.
“Who is able to understand the mind of Lord Yahweh? Who is able to be His teacher? We, however, have the mind of Christ!” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
An Accommodating Person is one who graciously changes plans for another’s benefit; who is willing to adjust in order to meet another’s needs; is open to adapting to changing circumstances; who is able to make concessions if needed; who makes allowances for others; who choose to oblige other and give them favors in order to be helpful; who is able to creatively shift from Plan A to Plan B if needed; who makes space for others to learn and grow; who welcomes others to fit into his own space; who makes reasonable exceptions to a general rule; who is comfortable in doing whatever it takes to be understood or to communicate effectively; who is willing to adjust expectations in light of reality; who is able to place limits on himself if it help others to flourish; who is able to step back in order to enable others to step forward.
Qualities of An Accommodating Person: Gracious; Humble; Sacrificial; Flexible; Observant; Farsighted; Insightful; Adaptable; Reasonable; Forgiving; Hospitable; Patient; Self-Effacing; Shrewd.
Our Accommodating God is willing, in His wisdom, to do everything described above, and then some. It seems to be in His nature to be an accommodating Soul, a part of His character since before Day One. God has been making concessions from before the creation of the universe, since creation itself was accomplished in the spirit of accommodation. God has also condescended to reveal His glory, agreed to His presence in the wilderness Tabernacle, made concessions to cultural realities in His Law, communicated in human language to produce holy Scripture, accommodated His word through His messengers, made Himself available through the Church’s sacraments, humbly revealed Himself with dreams and visions, and offered to us the ultimate accommodation… the Incarnation of His infinite Being to finite planet earth. God’s accommodations began before the beginning, during that eternal time before Day One, when Creator God filled everything, had always been present everywhere at the same time, and yet decided to make room for the universe. And the Lord has continued making concessions with His creation, with human beings, ever since. And that is the divine pattern to be found in our lives as well… to accommodate, to make space in our lives for God and for each other.
“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked’, declares the Lord God, ‘and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live. As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, repent from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel!” (Ezekiel 18:23, 31-32; 33:11).
The Judgment Throne of Grace. It seems clear from Scripture that the Lord God is yearning to make allowances for our sins, to adjust His guilty verdict, to accommodate us in His judgments through our repentance. Our Judge is full of mercy and will adapt to anyone who is willing to change his ways, either now or in the hereafter. “So let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).
The Hebrew Bible reveals a Lord of creation who established a pattern of restoring whatever He has judged. The Father would relent of His promised judgment when the people would repent. He would heal those who were punished. His anger was not forever, and whatever punishment He meted out was intentionally redemptive. Yahweh time and again revealed Himself as a God “who does not take pleasure in the death of anyone.” (Ezekiel 18:32, 33:11).
… In the same breath, God would say, “Moab will be destroyed,” and then “I will restore the fortunes of Moab.” (Jer. 48:4,47);
… “I will bring disaster on Elam, making an end to them,” and then declaring, “I will restore the fortunes of Elam.” (Jer. 49:37);
… “I will strike Egypt and then I will heal them! Blessed be Egypt my people!” (Is.19:21-25);
… “I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and of Samaria.” (Ezek. 16:53-55).
What the heck, Jonah? Or how about the famous complaint of Jonah after the Lord relented from destroying the Ninevites, an amazing, backhanded compliment... “Isn’t this what I said, Yahweh, when I was still at home? This is what I tried to delay when I fled to Tarshish! I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love! Yes, you are truly a God who relents from sending calamity!” (Jonah 4:2-3).
Redemption is the Purpose of His Heart. Time and again in the Psalms we see that the Lord’s anger lasts only for a moment. (eg, Ps. 30:5). There is always a redemptive purpose motivating God’s punishments and judgments. Jeremiah 23:20 and 30:24 declares, “The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.” It seems clear that the God of the Hebrew Bible will not abandon anyone forever, He ultimately doesn’t give up any anybody, and that He continues to love those whom He has judged. Universal Restoration is also suggested in several psalms, including: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him.” (Ps.22:27); “All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You, they sing the praises of Your name.” (Ps. 66:4); “All the nations You have made will come and worship before You, Lord; they will bring glory to Your name.” (Ps. 86:9).
Power in the Blood. The sacrificial blood of Jesus was so profound, so far-reaching, and so powerful that God through Christ has already forgiven the whole world of all its sins. As John the Baptist declared, Jesus was the Lamb of God who has indeed “taken away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). His blood on the Cross covered all of humanity, every person on earth. “And Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone, but also for the sins of the whole cosmos.” (1 John 2:2). Forgiveness is a gift that can be accepted or rejected. As with any gift that already exists with its giver, it’s a matter of reaching out your hands and accepting the free gift. But there are many who decide to reject this gift, and so do not put Christ’s forgiveness into action in their lives. Everyone is forgiven, but not everyone has accepted that forgiveness. “There is one God and one Mediator between God and us – the man Jesus, God’s Christ, the Anointed One, who gave His life as a ransom for all so that we might have freedom.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). To accept the gift of forgiveness during the process of repentance is to experience hope of a new life in God, it is to be freed from slavery to sin, delivered from the penalty of sin, and offered a new identity in Christ. I believe the fires of hell are temporary, and is the way God has mercifully decided to punish those who have rejected Him in a redemptive way, offering each sinner an opportunity to freely choose Him. God is not defeated by sin, and in fact has conquered it and will outlast it, since “His mercy endures forever.” So when someone asks me, “When were you saved,” I can respond, “Oh, about 2,000 years ago.”