God and Veal Parm

Psalm 97:2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Can you have veal parmigiana without the cheese? Impossible! It wouldn’t be veal parmigiana, would it? Some things need all the ingredients to be what they are. This is true of God, also. Now, don’t go off thinking I’m comparing God to a wonderful Italian dish. It’s simply an illustration. 

There are those who only want to take a small part of God and say that’s all He is. For instance, “God is love,” they declare. That’s it. They get stuck on that one attribute, and neglect everything else about Him.

But, just like veal parm without the cheese isn’t veal parm, God without all His other attributes isn’t God.

“Oh, but God is love! That means He loves me and let’s me do or be anything I want.” Those who make this claim like to compare God to an old grandfather figure who, with a wink of his eye, accepts everything his grandchildren do.

Don’t forget, God is also just. God is judge. God is the giver of laws. God is righteous.

How can we possibly mesh together a loving god with a god of justice and judgment?

Easy. How did He show His love? By dying on the cross. Why did He have to die? Because all people sin and are not worthy of anything but judgment. God, as love, mercy, and grace took our place and died a sacrificial death for our sins.

The trouble with people today is they don’t want to admit they are sinners. Or maybe they have a very narrow (unbiblical) view of what sin is. Or they’ve rewritten God’s word, changing what God declares to be sin as normal and right. 

Wake up! God is love, but you will never truly know His love unless you can first say, “I am a sinner.” 

To declare, “God is love” without understanding how He’s shown His love is like accepting veal parm without the cheese. It makes no sense.