Paul opens: 'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.' God as comfort rather than judge.
I was abused as a child. God was presented to me as the judge, the punisher, the one whose eyes see all sin. That God terrified me. But Paul introduces God differently: as the one who comforts. As the Father of compassion. That's a different God altogether.
Healing meant learning that God is not my abuser's nature. God is tender toward the hurting. God is more opposed to what happened to me than I am. I'm learning to feel comfortable in God's presence because I'm finally encountering the God who welcomes me home, not the God who condemns me.
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