Spinach and Judgment

One of my favorite meals to make is a spinach and cheese omelette - so yummy! I had decided to cook it today, but when I reached in the bag to take out my spinach, I realized that most of it had turned bad. 

Upon seeing the slime of sour spinach and having to throw most of it away, I thought to myself, "Poor spinach, it wanted to be in my tummy, but now its only fate is to be put in the trash." 

Then it got me thinking.

Is this how God feels when He has to judge people after they've died?

Yes, I know this is a leap from the small fire on my stove to the raging fires of Hell, but bear with me.

I was so sad when I had to throw so much spinach away for a few reasons - I had spent money and time purchasing the spinach, I really wanted to eat the tasty spinach, and I hate seeing food go to waste. 

How much more does the Father's heart mourn over those who reject Him?

Even from the beginning, I see the time that God has spent on us in that He specifically took seven whole days to provide creation and set an example. Christ spent over thirty years among a depraved, wretched, and evil world, and He suffered and died to save me from wasting away on earth and from suffering the eternal separation from Him. And God is fighting a spiritual battle that has been raging since the beginning of time, and He continues to battle until the war is done. 

Yet, there are still people who choose to rot, and that must break His heart - to know that those He died to save still don't want the restoration He gives, and that He has no choice but to throw it out.  

Going back to the story of making my food, I'd like to mention that I was still able to eat a spinach and cheese omelette because amid the rotten spinach were a few leaves that were good. Honestly, I celebrated a little inside each time I was able to toss a single leaf onto the eggs. And this parallels to the Father's heart, too, in that with every believer who is faithful despite the rotten world, He will rejoice and welcome each and every person who believed in Him.

As cheesy (pun intended) as this everyday situation may be, I still think it parallels God's heart well. There are so many people who refuse to believe in a God that would send people to Hell, but the reality is that that's not what God initially created. He created everyone, and the Son died for everyone, and the Holy Spirit was revealed, but only those who believe are accepted because God cannot be with those who are unholy in the similar way that I cannot eat rotten food. And with every person who rejects Him, God mourns because of all the work that went into that one person's life. 

How will you and I live in light of the love and effort God has instilled in us and to those who don't understand the Father's heart?

How deep the Father's love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He would give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

With wounds which mar the chosen one

Bring many sons to glory