And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”
Job 42:7 NKJV
When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
John 8: 10-11 NKJV
Throughout the scriptures, overwhelming evidences show God’s love for mankind. His desire and pursuit to justify, forgive, pardon and not to condemn is overwhelming.
When religious men speak, they speak in terms of God’s judgment. They present a God that is quick to judge and fast to condemn. A fault finding God, who is busy scrutinizing our every move with the sole aim of finding fault in us.
Religion has inadvertently created a negative and wrong image of God. God will kill you if you sin, make you poor, make you sick to punish you. When someone is going through challenging times, it’s God punishing him; when something bad happens, it is the act of God (what does the devil do sef). We misrepresent God as the author of evil. The Bible God is too good for that.
Job’s friends spent days attempting to prove God was the one behind Job’s calamities, “God was punishing him for some evil he did in secret,” “God is a punisher,” they alluded.
God spoke up to condemn their misrepresentation of Him and their hash judgment of Job. Jesus came to demonstrate God’s attitude towards our sins. Religious leaders of Jesus’s day were quick to apply punishment. Jesus was slow to condemn. God looks for reasons to bless, to help, to spare, to promote and not reasons to harm.
Do not let anyone misrepresent God to you. He is not a fault finding God. His mercies endure forever. Pharisees refused to accept and enjoy God’s mercy and they also prevented others from entering in, by misrepresenting. Do not let that be you.
Recommended text for further reading:
Psalms 130:3; 30:5; Romans 2:4; Malachi 3:6; Lamentations 3: 22-23; Isaiah 43:25, 54:8; Hebrew 8:12; Psalms 138:8.
