The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all that he has made…The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. (Psalm 145: 8,9 & 13b).

The God of the Bible is a faithful God, a covenant God who never forsakes creation. The God of the Bible is especially faithful, it seems, to the human species, making promises and keeping them. But the human species, well…the human species does not always reciprocate in kind. We forsake God and we forsake one another. This is why God has gifted us with the power to forgive, and the courage to ask for forgiveness.

Although human beings have at times in their history imagined it so, God is not more faithful to one religious sect than another. God does not withdraw when displeased. God does not, like Santa Claus, give gifts only to the “good boys and girls.” Everyone enjoys the gifts of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the love of God, and the forgiveness of God – everyone! (Even scoundrels).

We can debate the existence of God. We can cogitate and speculate about what God actually is, or if God actually is. We can wonder and doubt and wrestle and question all we want. This is part and parcel of our humanity. We can rail at God and shake our fists in anger. We can shut God out and deny God access. We can even hate God, but God will remain faithful and loving and gracious and merciful.

Some might ask, “What about God’s wrath?” I have to wonder whether those images of God in the Bible and elsewhere are mere projections of our own anger upon one another. When I find that people believe in Hell I like to ask who it is they imagine to be going there. It’s never themselves, or their friends or acquaintances. It’s always someone from whom they see themselves disconnected in some way. Sometimes it might be family members, but usually family members they have some sort of contempt for, or family members that do not behave as they would like.

I don’t worship a wrathful God. I find my own wrath distasteful and arrogant, and I find the wrath of God even more so. It is not God’s wrath that corrects us, but God’s unconditional love, and unerring faithfulness. Because when we turn around, God is always there; always has been, and always will be there. It is God’s love that melts us, and turns us into children again.

My prayer as we enter this new year together is that we can practice this same love and faithfulness in the presence of  –  and with – one another.

                                                                                                          Pastor Vance Toivonen