Exodus 20:5-6 KJV
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

These verses are self explanatory but I want to ask you something do you hate God? I do not think growing up the word hate God was ever in my vocabulary though I might say I hate someone, I do not think hate and God was ever in the same sentence in direct relationship to God ever existed and I pray it never will. Yet to love someone or to hate someone is doing it to God has well. If we lump this section with the Ten Commandments with I John 2:9-11, we get a broad picture that is beyond our human ability at times. There are times we hate, or angry enough to even wish a person dead, but it does not mean we hate them to wish eternal judgment on them. It the action we hate, but individual is a living soul. That soul without Christ will face death for eternity. Is our own soul in jeopardy because of our hate. If we love God we not going to hate our brother and who is our brother, but anyone of the human race.

There times hate creeps in and the darkness of hate remain in us even hidden. The light of God will enable for us to have mercy for a person. The bitterness of the sin of hate will destroy you. We are to hate what is evil, but is man himself evil or just his actions. Stand in a mental institution and ask yourself if some of the vilest patience deserve eternal torment. There action speak destruction, even their words come forth as evil intent. Yet medication in some cases will not quiet them. Yet is compassion and mercy shown. Straight jacket will not hold some of them.

There is a point to my madness this morning if we look at some of the vilest part of our society that is somewhat controlled we will see something there that is beyond our mental comprehension. Why because these people know not the mercy or understand not the compassion of God. Is man so controlled of his own emotions that on a very bad day when the stress limit reaches its maxium capabilities to be normal that the rage of evil still seem to persist in away in action that is not human like or normal for a person, that generally shows compassion. Is the love of God missing, maybe not.

Hate is often the reaction or emotion of anger or is that reversed and anger is the reaction of hate. Is God in his mercy giving man back what they desire is hate in his time of destruction. Giving man all his desire of hate and anger? The wrath of God is on the children of disobedience, on the children that do not love him. To love him is to also love others. No matter our good nature to love anger and hate still exist. Yet we can not hate your brother and walk in the light of God. Jesus even taught if you had a problem with your brother go and straighten it out. Brotherhood and sisterhood very important in the human race. It is also important to God.

To learn to ignore all flaws in another, is to deny the reality of the problem. Yet you can not remove the log in your brother's eye until you remove the log in your own eye. Meaning you can not remove a problem from your brother or sister til you can remove it in your own life. Love is sometimes helping another, and love is sometimes ignoring the problem and only praying about it. The word of God declares God to be a jealous God, but also one that punishes even the children in the fourth generation because of the sins of the father. We know sin is counted from the garden which is more then fourth generations of sin. Christ died he had to die because of Adam sin. Yet man sins every generation there are things man does that God does not like. Man that has faith might receive mercy but the next generation may not? Why because that next generation has no love for God. It was not taught because of the sin of the generation before them. Sin is opposition of faith. Sin is the oposition of loving God.

How many couples know when their spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend is angry with them. What is one thing they do that lets you know they are upset. What is one thing they do to let it go unfixed. Knowing that problem will reappear with the same quirky trying to fix the problem or trying to make the other see from their point of view. It sometimes doing those little things that seem more like revenge. They also know how to butter your bread so to speak and do things that make you smile. They know the difference. Whether it concious or nonconcious happening whether showing revenge or compassion it going to be up to the one receiving the reward of either. It like leaving something out that should be put away. It like having to go behind someone cleaning up when they know how to do it too. Leaving the task undone or not well done because of just no respect for the process to maintain. Or is the process to maintain not so important to the other.

The truth is, how important is loving God to you? God tells us he a jealous God, but he also tells us he has mercy to those that love him. He does not tell us he going to bless us, he going to show us mercy. How many time do you show mercy to your love one's in situations not their own, how many times do you show mercy to your love ones when they knew what they were doing?

God's mercy is shown even when we sin why because of his Son ability to forgive. No because he desire to forgive man long before Christ came as a man. Punishment would come on the children that did not love him. The wrath of God would not come until the generation fail to speak of the love of God and share the love of God with the next generation. God's mercy even when one is blind to the effects of our sin on the next generation to come, even up to the fourth generation.

God gave us mercy so we too would show mercy on each generation that knew not God or his ways. That maybe the light we shine of the love God in our own hearts might shine on that generation that is in darkness to the love of God. Sometimes we see the generation of children growing up and parents deny them the opportunity to learn about faith or knock it down to the point they do not desire to know about God. They themselves having a problem far deeper then they themselves even realize. People are app to judge religious folks never grasping that religious person is human. When our humanity fails for whatever reason to show the light of Christ do we truly love God. Maybe we love God but we failed to shine light because of bad situation we could not over come the problem, because we would not seek God about the problem. Once one recognizes God ability to show someone where one failed at being that light of the love of God, then they can understand God's mercy in their own life.

Not everything we do is loving all the time, we are not perfect, but God's grace is a work of art that our own grace can not compare too. God wants to teach each of his children how to love like he loves them with unconditionally love. Can you love unconditionally. If you can you have done far more then most of humanity. If you can admit that why you love unconditionally is by God's grace and mercy in your life. I will say I know that is true. There times it takes an act of God to love someone else. It by God's grace and mercy we are saved. Our love could not save us, only God's love could save us. He gave us his word, and then he gave us Christ Jesus to demonstrate his word in perfection. Then he gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us to love and to enable us to love as He does. It takes time to learn to love. It not over night like God's love. It a wrestling match to love as God loved us at times. Do not worry, your salvation is not based on your ability to love, but your ability to believe and God is able to help your unbelief as well. Desiring salvation is where faith begins and does not end there, if you desire to know Jesus and his love and mercy for you.

Dear Heavenly Father, may your grace and mercy shine in our hearts, that as we learn not only to love you, that we will allow your love to shine in our hearts, as you teach us to love you and others. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: 1 John 2:9-11 KJV
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

Matthew 7:3-5 KJV
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Ephesians 2:1-5 KJV
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)