God, who is by nature good and dispassionate, loves all men equally as His handiwork. But He glorifies the virtuous man because in his will he is united to God. At the same time, in His goodness He is merciful to the sinner and by chastising him in this life brings him back to the path of virtue. Similarly, a man of good and dispassionate judgment also loves all me equally. he love the virtuous man because of his nature and the probity of his intention; and he loves the sinner, too, because of his nature and because in his compassion he pities him for foolishly stumbing in the darkness. (Maximos the Confessor)

Just before writing my own morning meditation, I read another. This morning the writer is reacting to Psalm 30.

Desire for control also comes into play when we believe that God visits disaster upon us to punish us for our sins. That stance, though frightening, allows us to cling to the thought that we have some control. If we believe that God favors us because of our good actions, then when God's face seems hidden from us, we can do something about it. Such thinking pushes the grace of God and the work of Christ right out of the picture. If we believe God punishes our sins by sending earthly adversities, it's a short step to believing we can save ourselves through our own actions. But the truth is that I am saved by the grace of God, not by my own actions.

It seems to me that God has given us freedom. This freedom of choice -- exercized by billions of people, trillions of creatures, and the whole natural system -- has consequences. Some consequences are good, some are bad. Some are good as intended, many are bad despite the best intentions. Most often there is no intention whatsoever.

We can complain that God, in this grant of freedom, allows injustice and all sort of evil to run riot. But the alternative is a frozen stasis of non-creation.

We often stumble. We often leave the path of virtue. But God does not push us and God is always welcoming our return.