daily word - consuing fire

How do you view me? One perspective says that I am a consuming fire. Does this seem far removed from your routine church activities, and your doctrine? Does it seem consistent with a view of me as harsh, exacting, judgmental, and punitive? Does it speak to retributive justice? Your doctrine also declares me to be a God of love and mercy. Do you wrestle with these two concepts to reconcile them? Could they both be true at once? Are you open to enlarging your thinking that it will encompass love as a consuming fire?