Katie and I have been memorizing I John 4:7-21 together, and at the same time I’ve been reading through Jeremiah and now Lamentations. It’s very eye-opening to contrast John’s view of God’s love with Jeremiah’s view of God’s wrath. There is no doubt that God is love, but there is equally no doubt that God pours out his judgement on those that violate His precepts. It makes Romans 5:8,9 a bit more real to me.

One thing studying both of these passages in parallel makes me want to do is be very careful that I have a view of God that is built upon the whole of Scripture, not just one verse or passage or book. Of course, a proper view of God is the endeavor of a lifetime, but it’s very much worth the work.