A Living God

Several years ago I was president of a subsidiary of a major company. I had a very talented staff that was a challenge to manage on a day in, day out basis. They all had one thing in common. They all felt they could do a better job than me in running the company. The higher ups in the corporation must have felt differently since I was running it. Some of my decisions they were OK with, some made them less than happy. Those are the ones people seem to remember.

When I was reassigned someone else took over and a funny thing happened. All of a sudden my presidency was viewed as not that bad a situation. Some measure of the "good old days" were assigned the AndyC era. My take on it when I was tlod about it: presidents, like artists, seem to grow in popularity after they have been dead a while.

There are some things some people prefer dead. Like artists and presidents. And many prefer a dead god. One they can control, one that pretty much has to do what he or she is told, because after all, a dead god is really a figment of someone's wishful thinking or imagination.

The thought of a living God terrifies them. They will reject it out of hand.

I like the fact that I serve a living God. It is the thought of an angry One that terrifies me. I am thankful He is loving and gracious, merciful but just. The fact that He is just is going to cause a lot of people a lot of heartburn one day (and body and soul burn as well).

I serve a living God and He blesses me every day. What a gift He has given me.

The Wrath of God

Yesterday I talked a bit about the signs of God. Today I want to talk about His wrath. Not a popular topic these days. Not sure there ever was a time in human history when people wanted to hear about the wrath of God. It is often used by people to deny God's existence or the fact that He is perfectly just and compassionate. We have all heard someone say "How could a loving God allow..." or something that starts out like that when we speak about our faith in Jesus.

J I Packer in Knowing God sums it up nicely. He speaks of God's wrath being judicial, God giving what someone deserves. Not to cruel but just. Not to visit pain but administer justice. Packer also mentions that the wrath of God is what people choose; by retreating from His light or turning from His path. Adam was not cast out of the garden until after he chose to try to hide from God after Eve and he ate what was forbidden by God. You wonder would things have been very different if Adam had faced God and willingly confessed his sin and disobedience.

What it comes down to when someone is angry at God because of the pain and suffering in the world is that we are getting what we asked for in light of our sin and disobedience. It doe not make God's wrath easier to bear, but it is a just action by a loving and compassionate God, no matter what we may think.