I’m no wine connoisseur, but I know that certain wines are mixed, or blended, before bottling. Blending is the process of combining different varieties to create a medley that’s better than any of the wines on their own.

Mirroring a fine blend, the prophet Isaiah reveals an aspect of the Lord’s heart tuned toward you and me:

The Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up and show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Our world rarely blends grace and compassion with justice. We present justice as harsh, punitive and crushing, opposite of the lightness of grace. Those in need of justice deserve no compassion. It’s either/or, not both/and.

But in the Lord we experience an exquisite blend. God’s justice mixes with his grace and compassion to release us from our captivity to self and turn us toward him. The Lord models this for us, and in turn we can be both just and compassionate with those around us.

While I never hope to understand the intricacies of winemaking, I can live under the hope found in the Lord’s matchless blend of justice, grace and compassion.

Isaiah 30 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Rodrigo Abreu