Romans 2:4 ESV
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? — Ro 2:4
This has to be part of the discussion about why bad things happen in this world. Sometimes, God is letting us be. Like the end of Romans 1 talked about God giving us over to what we seek the most. He is patient and forbearing. He is waiting for us to turn around, but until then, He patiently waits with kindness, forbearance, and patience.
This is what the righteousness of God looks like. Not hitting with a baseball bat, but waiting with open arms.
Look at Luke 15 – The Parable of the Prodigal Son. In the tradition of the Rabbis, the son would come back and beg to work for the father, and the father would re-instate him as a slave. Jesus twists the end of this parable towards the grace and mercy of God by having the loving father welcome his son back and throwing a party! This would be like the three little pigs inviting the wolf in for steak and they all live out their days as friends.
Let’s bring repentance back.
Let’s call for repentance with all of the passion of a bullhorn guy.
But let’s do it the way God Himself would have us do it: with kindness.