The Holy Martyr Nicephorus
Jude 1-10; Luke 22:39-42; 22:45-23:1
Read Jude 1-10
How is it possible for the Holy Apostle Jude to say today that the Lord destroys those who do not believe? Do we not believe in and serve a God who is love? How can He, a loving God, cause the destruction of His creation?
Our all-knowing and loving God does not desire the destruction of His creation. God is the author of all creation, and yet He has given us free will. God sets before us His plans for us and yearns for us to seek and serve Him in all things, but in giving us free will, He has given us the ability to choose to follow Him in joy or reject Him in sin. In rejecting Him, we distance ourselves from Him and choose ourselves to live a life without Him.
God never desires the death of a sinner. God desires that we repent and live with Him. Today and every day, may we choose God and flee those things that drive a wedge between us and Him.