“God’s judgment does not mean His love has run out; it means His love does not erase our freedom to reject Him. — Alma Ohene-Opare
Commentary:
When Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom, he began by asking whether fifty righteous people would be enough. Then forty-five. Then forty. Thirty. Twenty. Finally, ten. Each time, God agreed to spare the city if those righteous people could be found there. Think about that willingness. God would have preserved an entire city for the sake of ten righteous souls. Before we see destruction in this account, we should see extraordinary mercy. Abraham’s questions revealed a God whose willingness to spare was far greater than the city’s willingness to repent.
God does not casually abandon His children. Like a loving father calling a child away from danger, He warns, instructs, corrects, and invites. But love cannot make our choices for us. His infinite love honors our agency while His perfect justice holds us accountable for how we use it. Sodom’s destruction followed grievous wickedness and persistent rejection of righteousness. It was not evidence that God had stopped loving, nor should we assume that every tragedy is proof of someone’s rejection of Him. The lesson is that mercy does not make moral law meaningless. A father can continue loving a child while refusing to protect that child’s destructive choices from every consequence.
Paul’s assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God offers profound hope. Our suffering, our weakness, and even our past failures do not make us beyond His reach. We can resist His invitations, but we cannot force Him to become indifferent to us. Through Jesus Christ, He has opened the way for repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. We should never mistake His patience for permission to continue in sin, or His correction for evidence that we are unloved. His love calls us home. To live like Christ is to extend that same patient love to others while remaining faithful to truth.
Scripture:
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:38-39
Daily Application:
Reach out to someone you have been tempted to give up on, offering sincere love and encouragement without excusing harmful behavior.