The God Who Chose Compassion
by Lindsey Hoyt
I’m a perfectionist and I’ve learned that trait is a close cousin of pride. Maybe even a sibling. I’m that person who scraps a project when the first irreversible error is made. I’m quick to pronounce something “unredeemable” and I have a tendency to leave tasks unfinished because they quickly lose priority if I run into problems and issues.
God also values perfection. In fact, he is perfect. But his response to imperfection is starkly (and beautifully) different from my own. While I frustratedly throw in the towel and start from scratch, God chooses restoration.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:3-5)
We are broken people with a long track record of failure and rebellion. Book after book of the Bible reveals that not one person has been able to live in line with the perfection that characterizes God and his design (Romans 3:10-12). Isaiah says even our good deeds are no better than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Because of sin, we are all fallen, twisted versions of who God created us to be. God, in his holiness, cannot have fellowship with sin. So, either he must be forever separated from his people, or his people must change.
Just like our history recorded in the Bible shows that we are broken and imperfect, it also shows we cannot change on our own. Paul describes us as dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). Our own personal experiences prove this, too. In our hearts, what we love and long for is most often not God, the one who is actually worthy of our love and devotion, but self, things, and people.
Before the very first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden, God warned Adam and Eve that the consequence would be death. Departing from God’s design means being separated from God, the artist and author of life. God, in justice, had every right to immediately condemn the entirety of his creation to a fiery judgment. He had set the standard, even given a warning. But God was not satisfied with destroying his people. Instead, he responded (and still responds) with compassion.
God has chosen to restore, cleanse, and purify us. In Genesis 3:15, he made his first promise of salvation. Throughout all 39 books of the Old Testament, we see that promise become more and more clear as God’s plan weaves together. Then, one day, he left his safe, glorious, worship-filled home - heaven - and came to earth, fully God and fully human - Jesus. He lived a life that was hard, dangerous, and very much not glorious - but he lived it perfectly. He went to the cross, shouldering our punishment as His own, dying in our place, bearing the full weight of the wrath our sin deserves. For all of time. He rose again from the dead, showing that the power of sin has been broken and that even death, the one thing we can all count on, bends to his will. In Christ, our cold, dead hearts are stripped away and we are given new ones that are soft and full of life. More evidence of God’s compassion.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)
Even with the penalty of our sin paid, God was not finished. Jesus, because of the humanness he took on, was limited - not imperfect, just willingly bound by the rules of time and space that he created to govern earth. He could only be in one place at a time. He needed to eat and sleep, just like us. He traveled from place to place the same way we do. So, after the right amount of time, Jesus returned to heaven, promising his people they would never be alone; he would be with them always, even to the end of the age. And God’s mission continued through the Holy Spirit. Unbound by time. Unlimited by space.
The Spirit continues to mold and shape us back into the image of God. Raising our dead hearts to see God. Convicting us of sin. Reminding us of the gospel. Bearing fruit in our everyday lives. Guiding us in righteousness. Empowering us so the world can see what living in God’s design is like. Miracles are performed. Relationships are restored. Bodies are healed. Demons are cast out. Needs are met. Divisions are reconciled. Shame is cast off. The gospel is shared. The kingdom grows.
And even still, God is not finished. In the fullness of time, with a trumpet sound, he is coming again. The weary world will rejoice again and this time it will never end. God will be in perfect fellowship with his people again. Pain, suffering, brokenness, and death will have no place in his kingdom. They will be erased forever…along with pride. Thank you God, that you are different from me. Thank you for choosing compassion.