Please be careful not to fall for the "God is just love" dilution of God's character that is so prevalent today. God is not a "benevolent force" or whatever. God IS love and mercy, but also laws and justice, among many other things that we literally don't have the capacity to fully understand or appreciate. Think about it – how could we possibly fully understand God? (And be careful not to define Him in human terms.) One example: How we think about "love" and being "faithful" is so shallow and narrow compared to God's character. The closest any of us can come to understanding all of it is Jesus. Who He is and what He did here. Jesus paid our penalty – as Colossians 2:14 says: "...by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." So: God is that amazing love AND has standards (laws) which REQUIRE justice when violated.