Ezekiel 18:23
"Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?"
God is often misunderstood by most people. There are those who like to paint God as an angry person up in Heaven Who can't wait to press a red button and send lightening to strike them dead because of their sin. Then there are those who paint God as a person in Heaven Who loves people so much that He never chastens or judges His children. Neither of these pictures are accurate.
God paints His own picture of Himself in the verse above. In Ezekiel 18, God talks about the sins of the nation of Israel. He shows how they left Him for sinful activities, and then He tells how He must judge them for their wickedness. Yet, God makes it very clear that though He must judge sin, He desires more that they would get right so that He can bless them; however, He also makes it very clear that He will judge them if they don't get right. The verse above paints a clear picture of God's desire towards us.
First, God's first desire is that we would do right. It is clear that God would rather you and I do right so that He can bless us. Everything God does in our lives is to motivate us to do right. God's focus is on His children obeying Him. Every blessing God sends our way is to motivate us to do right or continue doing right. God loves it when His children obey Him, because when they do He can send His blessings upon them.
Second, God is so merciful when we do wrong that He will withhold His judgment as long as He can to give us an opportunity to do right. Christians often mistake the mercy of God as a license to sin. Friend, God's mercy is not a license to sin, but it is God's last ditch effort to get us to turn from our wicked ways. Don't waste God's mercy, but use it to get right.
Third, God will judge our sin. God's mercy does not mean that He will not judge us for what we have done. There are some who think that sin was judged at Calvary, and they are right, but God still punishes His children. Just because you are saved does not mean that God won't punish you if you do wrong. Hebrews 12:6 says, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." God will chasten the Christian who continues in sin.
Friend, the picture God paints of Himself should motivate you to want others to do right. I'm afraid we often cut our own off too quickly when they do wrong when we should be more willing to restore them back to usefulness. Sin does have consequences, but it should never cause us to make someone a castaway who can never be used again. God desired for Israel to get right so that He wouldn't have to judge them, and we should have that same desire towards those who have sinned and want to get right.
Let me ask you, is there someone whose sin has hurt you and you won't give them a chance to get right? That is not of God. When someone does wrong, your prayer should be that they get right. Your prayer should be that God gives you the opportunity to help them come back to Him. Your attitude should be one of remorse when God chastens them. Don't rejoice in the chastening of God's children, but be prayerful that they will come back to Him. This is the picture God painted of Himself, and we should try to emulate that picture.