reluctant?

It occurred to me a while back that the traditional Western
picture of the atonement tends to portray a God who seems
not all that keen on letting us off the "hook". With so much
emphasis on "forgiveness" it seems to be either the whole
thing or at least the preliminary. God, we are told must
demand his "pound of flesh" before we are "justified". He is
furious with wrath. It's going to take some doing to calm
him down. Again, I'm not intending to take any of this lightly,
God forbid; but, in plain English, this is the way it comes
across. Let me say again, nothing needs to "transpire" for
God to forgive us. Forgiveness is a "given"! It's what God
does. "Satan had me bound, but Jesus set me free...." as the
song goes. Christ/God (the recurring Orthodox expression) is
the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". The
"sin of the world" is what binds and torments his "beloved",
his creation. Here's the bottom-line on this: He rescues us
out of love, not out of forgiveness. We already have that.
Whether you accept it or not....that ball's in your
court.