Intolerable - Martin Wiles

O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. Psalm 5:4 NLT

Some things are difficult to tolerate.

Tailriders. Those who disregard safe driving rules by doing so and who would surely cause an accident if I had to slam on brakes. The same ones who often pass in no passing zones as soon as they have a chance to go around me.

Slow internet connection. I remember the days of dial-up internet, but those days are gone, so I want my internet to work and work quickly. I don’t have time for pages to take minutes to load. I need seconds.

Poor customer service. Businesses are plagued by it. Representatives who seem to care less whether they wait on you or not. Tellers who don’t say hello, who don’t ask how I’m doing, and who don’t tell me to have a good day when I’m finished. Employees who don’t seem to remember that their job depends on people like me patronizing the place where they work.

Abuse. Spousal abuse. Child abuse. Parents who mistreat their children by verbal abuse or physical abuse or both. Parents who tell them they were a mistake and will never make anything of themselves. Spouses who make their spouse feel like a servant. Who downgrade everything they do. Who hit them when they’re angry.

Sin. The psalmist says God’s can’t tolerate it, which presents a major problem. I’m a sinner—and so is everyone else born on this planet. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). If God can’t tolerate sin, then how can He tolerate me—or anyone else? Yet, I need Him to tolerate me if I’m to have a relationship with Him now and in eternity.

God, in His wisdom—and before the foundation of the world—conceived a way to make those whom He knew would sin tolerable. Sin is an affront to His holy nature, but He discovered a solution to the dilemma. He would allow someone who was also holy to remedy the problem.

Jesus Christ was righteous and paid for my sins on Calvary’s cross. When I accept Him, God takes His righteousness and gives it to me. Now God can tolerate what He could not tolerate before. In fact, He can love, adore, and cherish what He could not before.

God can’t tolerate sin, but He can love you when you’re wrapped in the righteousness of Christ.

Prayer: Father, thank You for clothing us in the righteousness of Your Son so we can have a relationship with You.

Tweetable: Are you expecting God to tolerate sin?

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