Would you be casually flippant towards your airline’s Chief Pilot if you flew for that airline? Not likely. It is concerning that today some of us who call ourselves believers have been known to act that way towards God.
We rightly decry “fire and brimstone” preaching if its only source is the self-righteous anger of the preacher. Yet there is a place for reminding Christians that our Lord is not mocked.
If we want to approach God with a sort of casual moral informality marked by flippant treatment of holy things, and even the name of God, we may someday face the kind of hard discipline necessary to restore a proper respect for that Name. The prospect of that is not something to be taken lightly.
Yet, thanks be to Him, even such a severe mercy at the hands of the Father is indicative of His loving nature because, while it is severe, it is still a mercy.
“…thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe…” -Hebrews 12:28 (ESV)
