Maximally F

In one of Thomas Aquinas’s proofs for the existence of God, he reasons that perfections which we find in creatures we find present only to varying degrees, but that in God all perfections must be and are present in their fullness. To use the no-nonsense language of the philosophers, any given perfection (symbolized by F) will be maximally so in God, who is maximally F.

Let’s consider one of God’s perfections: his mercy. He is the forgiving God who delights to do so (Mic 7:18). This attribute of God is not only the central theme of human history (Eph 1:7-10) and of particular interest in angelic circles (1 Pet 1:12), but of immense importance in our own day. Forgiveness is now the lost virtue. There is no longer any category for it. You sin, you violate the changing mandates of the day, and you’re done.

It is not so with God. He is full of forgiveness for flagrant fiends. Redemption is not only possible, it is offered freely to all through the finished work of his Son Jesus Christ. So while people increasingly withhold forgiveness from one another (they are become, according to the philosophers, minimally F), God continues to offer eternal mercy to wicked sinners like us. Because of this (and only because of this), we can forgive one another and dwell in true harmony as one in Christ.