Early in my theological development I was given a paradigm by which I saw God as holy love.
I remember my systematic theology prof writing those two words on the board, but then he drew a line between them like this:
holy | love
I remember my systematic theology prof writing those two words on the board, but then he drew a line between them like this:
holy | love
Under the word "holy" he listed attributes like wrath, righteousness, power, justice, judgment etc.
Under the word "love" he wrote words like mercy, grace, patience, kindness, etc.
Under the word "love" he wrote words like mercy, grace, patience, kindness, etc.
In other words, God is love, but he is also holy which means, among other things, wrath. That dividing line between holy and love caused me problems for years.
Then I came to see that the line is an illusion. God's holiness is his love. God is not a mixture of wrath and mercy, hate and love, power and grace. God is love and everything God is and does flows out of a heart of love.
