Restraint

I've been rereading The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. I recommend it to you. There are so many interesting thoughts in it.

One of those thoughts has to do with what the author describes as God's restraint.

During the temptations in the desert, Jesus could have taken whatever action he wanted. He could have done any of the things Satan proposed. He could have done twice what was asked of him. He could have done something far more spectacular than Satan asked.

But he chose to leave Satan empty-handed.

In the garden. On the cross. In the manger. In so many contexts, Jesus could have taken action, but he chose to restrain his power. He chose to approach us gently.

He chose to leave us space to decide for ourselves. He protected us from his overwhelming might, giving us the option to love him or not.

And later when scoffers charged that the second coming was slow, God waited patiently not wanting any of us to perish. Restraint.

Absolute power in absolute control.