Let me ask you, is God balanced?

Is he a careful mix of judgment and mercy, a safe middle ground between wrath and love? Is that the kind of God we want? Predictable, moderate, fair, a God who keeps everyone in line, never leaning too far to one side?

But what if that's not who God is?

What if Jesus revealed something else, something more shocking?

What if God tips the scales completely?

What if God is reckless with love, unfair with forgiveness, unreasonable in grace?

And if that's true, what does it mean for us, for those we love, and for those those we don't?

I'm your host, Jeremy Johnson, and you're listening to Slutty Grace.

God is not balanced, quite the opposite.

Most of us want want a God who is balanced, a God who doesn't lean too far towards vengeance, or too far towards love, a God who finds a comfortable middle ground and plants himself there, a moderate god, a middle of the road God.

But fortunately for us humans, that God does not exist.

Instead, we have a reckless God, an extreme god, a far leaning to one side god.

Daddy is excessive, he's wild, he's unreasonable, he's unfair. He's unwarranted. He's a fanatic, insane, hell-bent, unbridled, unrestrained, uninhibited, a borderline lunatic when it comes to loving and forgiving us humans, his kids.

Don't believe me, Jesus told stories to make this point clear.

• God is a field manager who paid workers this same wage, whether they worked all day or just one hour. And some complained, that's not fair.
• God is a scorned old father who ran, robed heiked high to embrace his wayward son, kissing him endlessly and throwing a feast while the older son seethed with jealousy.
• God is a shepherd who left 99 sheep alone in the field, just to chase down the one who had wandered away.
• God is a banquet host when the invited guest refused to come, God opened his doors to the outcasts, the homeless, the diseased, the unwanted, and set before them the finest food and wine free of charge.
• God is a woman who lost a coin and tore apart her house to find it, and then threw a party once she did.
• God is a collector who sold everything, literally everything to buy one pearl or a hidden treasure in the field. Lunatic, right?
• God is a king who forgave a servant's $3 billion debt, wiped it clean, no strings attached. Who does that?

On and on, Jesus went, painting a picture of God who is anything but balanced when it comes to love.

But Jesus didn't just describe it, this unfair, unbalanced love of God in stories.

He lived it.

He touched the untouchable , talked to the untable, forgave the unforgivable, ate and drank sinners, he healed the cursed. And yes, he spoke harsh words against those who judged and condemned, but even those words were born out of love.

So I'll ask again. Is God balanced?

Thankfully not.

All right, Jeremy, but what about justice? Great question.

Here's the thing .

God himself is the measure of justice.

And since God is radically unbalanced towards love, every decision God makes is just because love defines justice.

To us, his love-justice may seem terribly unfair, but maybe what feels unjust is just revealing how messed up our ideas of justice really are.

It's funny, when it comes to God's extravagant unfair love, we gladly claim it for ourselves, but when it applies universally to others, especially the undeserving, we choke.

Like children whining, that's not fair. Why do they get the same thing we get? Why do you love them?

And maybe, like a patient parent, God will simply say, "I know, but are you envious because I'm generous?"

I'm grateful that Jesus painted God this way, unbalanced, extreme, reckless.

Because it means that when it comes to love and forgiveness, he leans entirely in our favor.

And maybe the invitation is this to follow our daddy's leave of an unfair, unbalanced love and grace.

Remember to walk in grace, and if you can, share that grace. Thank you for listening to The Slutty Grace Podcast.

If you believe the show and message is important in our time, please share it and be sure to subscribe on whichever podcast platform you use.

If you can, please leave a rating and review so others can find these messages of God's love and grace.