"As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him " Psalm 103:13
I hear this part of the Psalms every Sunday during Orthros and it gets me every time. His forgiveness knows no bounds. At the same time, he chastises when we do wrong. This chastisement is by no means a condemnation nor does he necessarily remain angry. I can't explain it well, I just know how I feel as a father. So I will let one of the Church Fathers do the explaining.
From St Augustine:
Let Him be as angry as He shall will, He is our Father. But He has scourged us, and afflicted us, and bruised us: He is our Father. Son, if you bewail, wail beneath your Father; do not so with indignation, do not so with the puffing up of pride. What you suffer, whence you mourn, it is medicine, not punishment; it is your chastening, not your condemnation. Do not refuse the scourge, if you dost not wish to be refused your heritage: do not think of what punishment you suffer in the scourge, but what place you have in the Testament.
May God bless all who read my ramblings,
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