Welcome back everyone to Deeper Waters. We hope this blog is helping you navigate the ocean of truth so that you can avoid sharks. We’re studying the doctrine of God now in Christian thought. Our guide for this has been the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. This can be read for free by anyone at newadvent.org. We’re going to wrap up our look now at the justice and mercy of God by asking if these two are found in every work of God.
When we spoke earlier of mercy, we spoke of it as that which removes defects. Not every defect however is that which causes misery but only in one whose lot it is to be happy. This would belong to rational creatures like angels and human beings, and of course, God, though God has no defects. To not remove a defect in a rock does not affect any happiness in the rock since the rock cannot have happiness.
This is important in understanding how God works. He is working for the happiness of rational creatures and does allow some defects. We can all name several defects that exist in us. However, all God does is done in accordance with his wisdom, which means he is acting out the debt he has to himself. In this case, mercy and justice are involved in all that he does.
Also, all that God does, he does for the sake of his goodness and all things eventually reach that goodness. For instance, Aquinas asks why a man has hands. He has hands because it is good for his rational soul. Why does he have a rational soul? So he can be a man? Why is he a man? It is because of the divine goodness. Ultimately, all things come to the divine goodness. So in the above paragraph we saw justice at work. In this one, we see mercy at work.
Of course, justice and mercy are at work in different aspects. Aquinas says justice is more at work in the conversion of Jews in the New Testament due to the promises that were made to the Jews. Mercy was more at work for the Gentiles since theirs was not the promises, as was said of the Gentiles by Paul in Romans.
Also, Aquinas says mercy is always at work in that no one gets entirely what they deserve. Not even in Hell are all getting what they deserve as they still exist even. The reason you and I continue in existence is because God has mercy on us and we should give thanks for that.
When looking at suffering we undergo here, there is also mercy. Suffering for us is designed to remove defects. We are being refined in the refiner’s fire and purified to that we can be presented before the throne without fault and blemish, as we know that there certainly is fault and blemish in us now.
We conclude then with Aquinas that there is justice and mercy in all that God does and for that, we are thankful.
Tomorrow, we start a new topic.
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