The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty… Exodus 34:6-7
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. Micah 7:18
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for.
Proverbs 16:6a
How can justice and mercy reconcile? Our human nature demands ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’.
I think of Thief on the cross who was hung beside Jesus at the crucifixion. All he did on the day of his impending death was ask Jesus to remember him. I assume Thief had a heart welling in repentance and remorse but Thief never went and made restitution. He never righted the million wrongs that he presumably committed because Jesus said “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Bam! Just like that, his eternity was changed.
I believe there will be fewer people in hell than we act like there will be. God’s view on justice encompasses much more than our limited knowledge can.
But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.
2 Peter 3:8:9 GNBUK
Do you understand the key that lies in this verse? There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousand years. They are the same.
This means that our perspective of justice, payment of wrong, or retribution is not necessarily God’s view. We only live for a hundred years at best. What if God does not mete out justice for a particular transgression for a thousand years, long after we’ve been dead?
What if our sense of justice and retribution is not in alignment with God’s truth?
What difference would it make if we adopted God’s perspective of justice? No longer are we impatiently fussing and privately fuming over ‘justice not being met.’ Instead, we can rest, assured that this God ‘who will by no means clear the guilty’ is a Righteous judge. For all we know, there may be a couple hundred years to go yet before the time of retribution.
Who are we to say “This or that person deserves God’s punishment” when we do not have a panoramic view like God does? Who am I to judge what makes an individual guilty before God?
Our limited minds cannot reconcile justice and mercy. Our infinite Father however, can.
Therefore, as Psalm 85:10 states:
Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
I think there will be fewer people in hell than we assume there will be. Not because we do not all deserve it, but because God sees the entire picture spanning thousands of years, thousands of generations and it is a vastly different picture than what we see in the one hundred years we may be graced with.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne; steadfast love and mercy go before him.
Ps. 89:14