In Lieu of my last post I have to add, isn't it good to have a God that expects the very best from us and only holds us to what He knows we can do.
How many people in our lives have unjust expectations of us?
Maybe we have friends that think we have more to offer than what we do, kids that expect us to satisfy every whim, family that makes plans for us assuming that is what we want, a ministry that expects perfection from us, a parent that pushes us to exhaustion.... it could be anything.
Expectations are dangerous unless you are God. He is the only one that knows all of the factors in the big picture. I guess I am just so thankful that my God doesn't sit up in heaven and glance down every now and then. The God I know is down here and hands on constantly stretching and growing his children to their full potential. And yes, in that... comes discipline. Sometimes it feels like a roll of distant warning thunder, a gentle snap of the finger to get our attention or at times a lasting wrath that reminds of that our Father loves us enough to not want us to stay bound in sin. Ultimately, the decision is ours... that's the beauty of it all, He never makes us do anything He makes it our decision. He has provided all of our needs we just have to choose to believe Him.
So, both the loving, compassionate Father God and the righteous Judge on the throne are the same and both very necessary for our freedom and life abundant. Think about life without hope or someone that knows everything about you, past, present and future and holds you to doing you best even when you fail. What would life be for without a reason to want to be better, a hope that brings us to our feet in the morning or the awe that is the world around us testifying to His glory with every glance.
There's just nothing like coming home to the feet of Jesus to make everything right again.
