"Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." --Psalm 2:11, 12
Understanding the wrath of God has always been a challenge for me. As much as I know and believe God to be loving and gracious toward me, I cannot deny the truth of his wrath, and that is hard. Love and wrath always seem to take opposite sides.
The best analogy I can think of to help myself understand this (and hopefully those of you who read this) is the relationship of a father and his son. We'll call the father "Dan" and his son "Murdoch."
Dan tells Murdoch that he can ride his bicycle whenever he wants as long as he wears a helmet, no matter how silly Murdoch thinks it may look. If Murdoch ever disobeys this simple rule, there are consequences. He will receive two swats to the rear, and his bicycle privileges will be taken away for a week. In the event that Murdoch is disobedient, is Dan any less loving when he carries out these consequences upon his own son? Of course not! As a father, Dan has every right and authority to punish his son, Murdoch, for his deliberate disobedience. Murdoch may disagree, at least for awhile, but he would soon learn to trust that his father does love and desires to see his son live a full life. In short, Dan's wrath is not separate from his love for Murdoch. Instead, it serves as a relational modifier within a loving relationship.
Unfortunately, this is only an ideal relationship; however, we are fortunate that God is the only perfect Father who never changes his ways and whose commands are just (Deut. 32:4). We, however, are imperfect, prodigal children trying to find our own way apart from him, and God, like any rational father would, gets upset when we disobey him, and he's not so eager to just let it slide.
Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church, once said in a sermon that God possesses a "passive wrath." In Romans, Paul writes that because man would rather go his own way, "God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done" (Rom. 1:28). In other words, God is saying, "Fine. You think you know what is best for you, go ahead. Don't be surprised when things go wrong," or something like that. It's Dan arguing with Murdoch to wear his helmet, but in the end stepping back and letting his son go, knowing that Murdoch could badly injure himself because Murdoch thought he knew what was best. We don't know what is best for us. One day we think it's money, the next day it's sex. We are never satisfied by what we think is best (Jer. 2:13), and it ultimately leads to self-destructive living and death.
So, what does God say is best for us?
His only Son, Jesus Christ.
A lot of people skim over the gravity of John 3:16. Let's face it. We've used this verse in about every version of media we can think of, and so much so that it's become cliche and is only taken at face value by today's culture. (If you really want to experience the gravity of this verse, read also verses 17-21). I wonder if anyone ever stops to ponder the positioning of the word "perish" in this verse. Is there not even a small hint of God's wrath? God sent his Son to save use from sin, to bring us back into the holy, harmonious relationship that was fractured by man's rebellion against his Creator and heavenly Father. If we don't want the Son, there is a very real consequence in place under the wrath of God.
He is a loving God because he wants us to be with him so that we may inherit his kingdom, and for that he paid dearly at a great cost only to himself by pouring out his wrath against us upon his own Son on the cross. By the blood of Christ alone we are cleansed and made righteous before God (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 5:18; Phil. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:21) In his love, his wrath operates as a relational modifier between himself and his children. For our disobedience, he is just in exhibiting his wrath toward us, but his love and his grace are constant despite our disobedience (Psa. 30:5).
God is worthy to be feared. What have we to lose if we fear him alone? Nothing. Rather, we have everything to gain in fearing him.
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