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Feb 28, 2026 06:00am

God’s Signature

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I wish I could tell you how often in conversation I hear people express frustration with the circumstances we endure while living in this sin-cursed world. They say things like, “If God loves me and cares about me, why did He let my child get cancer?” Or, “If God truly cares about me, why did He let my husband die?” Or, “Why would God allow evil people to live while believers seem to be suffering and dying?” Or, “Where was God when this tragedy happened?”

It seems that in our current era there is a palpable struggle among both believers and unbelievers alike to fathom God’s ability to balance justice and mercy. Yet these two characteristics form the foundation of who God is. Don’t get me wrong—I understand what it is like to be in the midst of suffering and unable to see what God may be doing or the purpose behind it. But throughout Scripture, over and over again, God stamps His signature on every word and every action to demonstrate and communicate that His holiness demands that He judge the wicked, and His mercy demands that He restore the repentant. This means that all He says and all He does is consistent with His character—not dependent on who we are or what we do.

I have heard many people say they believe that Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love and mercy, while God the Father portrayed in the Old Testament represents God’s justice. But in truth, both are merciful and both are just, because both are God. And as a side note, they are both present in the Old and the New Testament (but that is a rabbit trail for another day).

Sometimes we tend to look at what God is doing in our lives—or in the lives of those around us—and try to make sense of it based on what we think is deserved or earned. But God’s character is consistent and does not change based on what we do or do not do. Many of the books of the Old Testament prophets include messages about God’s impending judgment on His people, but the purpose of those messages was to serve as a warning so they would repent and God could extend mercy instead of judgment. If I learn anything about God in Scripture, it is that He prefers mercy over judgment and that the one thing we as humans can do is repent. How do I know? Here are a few Scriptures as evidence:

Ezekiel 33:11 says, “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”

Hosea 6:1–2 says, “Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.”

Isaiah 54:7–8 says, “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.

Isaiah 55:6–7 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

As you can see from these passages in the Old Testament, God is practically pleading with His people to repent so He can welcome them into sweet fellowship with Him and bestow on them all the goodness and mercy He has prepared for them. We know this because Luke 15:10 says there is “joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Even the cross of Christ—which most people associate only with God’s mercy and love—also demonstrates His justice. Jesus’ sacrifice did not nullify the debt we owed for our sin. Instead, He paid that debt when He surrendered Himself to receive the full wrath of God in our place. We know His sacrifice was sufficient because He did not remain in the grave but rose from the dead, giving us hope of that same resurrection.

Maybe our confusion lies in the definition of the word “wicked.” When we see that God judges the wicked, we may assume that is not referring to us. But any kind of disobedience or rebellion against God is wickedness. I am reminded of First Samuel 15:23 when God tells Saul, “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”

We all deserve God’s wrath because we have all disobeyed Him—therefore, we are all considered wicked. Remember, God’s character demands that He judge wickedness. But His character also demands that He restore the repentant.

My prayer is that you would first become one of the repentant who receives God’s mercy both now and for eternity. And as one who has received His redemption, I pray you will have eyes to see and trust that God is working—either in justice or in mercy—to bring hearts to repentance so He may extend His “abundant pardon.”