Article March 2, 1987 Issue

God—unchanging Love, or a merciless judge?

What is the nature of God's love?

Wade H. Tisdale, Jr.

It had always been confusing to me to read in the Bible of God's great love and then to read also of God's fearsome judgment against those who did not obey His laws. To be sure, the prophets warn of great suffering to be confronted by those who are disobedient. But how could an all-loving God also be the vengeful God depicted in Jeremiah?

Only recently has this seeming conflict been resolved in my thinking. The answer strengthens my love for God and opens up for me portions of the Scriptures to fuller understanding.

The answer has to do with the nature of God's love. We learn from the study of Christian Science that God's love is infinite, boundless. In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy writes, "To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death."^{Science and Health, p. 567.}