God’s relationship to us has always been one of tenderness. We misunderstand this covenantal relationship when we phrase it in a meritorious sense. God rewards us not like an employer compensating our sales, but as a gracious Father pouring his affection on his little children. God is a loving Father. We come boldly because he boldly invites us. He is not anxious to punish his children, He is eager to reconcile his children to himself. Any view of God that detracts from his tender character only prolongs the absurdities of legalistic theology. While his relationship towards evil is insatiably different, in Christ there is no condemnation. As Calvin so eloquently observes: “God examines our works according to his tenderness, not his supreme right.”
And too, we should share our witness and interactions with the same tenderness. No stones to throw in God’s arsenal.