What About the Wrath of God?

        Catchphrases. They're everywhere.  If I say: the “May the Force be with you” – you think of…Star Wars. If I say: “Won’t you be my neighbor” – you think of…Mr. Rodgers.   If I say: “Come on down” – you think of…“The Price Is Right”.   If I say: “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” – you think of…  Well, that catchphrase is a bit tougher, for it aired way back in the 1970's for a brand now only available in the Caribbean: Chiffon Margarine.  In it, actress Dena Dietrich, Mother Nature – is lead to believe that Chiffon is actually butter. When she discovers that it’s not, the wrath flies; lighting flashes and the earth begins to quake.  And then the catchphrase:  “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”

        It’s also not nice to fool Father God.  Though we don’t often speak of the wrathful side of God, there is an 'angry' side to the Father, and scripture reflects it. In Nahum 1, for example, God is miffed at Nineveh.  And so -- He “…rebukes the sea and dries it up…the mountains quake…and the hills melt away”. (Nahum 1:4-5). And in Psalm 18 – God's miffed at the enemies of David.  And so -- “the earth trembled and quaked -- and the foundations of the mountains shook.  They trembled because [God] was angry.”

Has God ever been angry, in your vicinity? He's displayed that sentiment, at least, as first, if you’ve ever done anything to break your relationship with Him; translated:  if you’ve ever sinned.

Sometime ago, my cell-phone kept ‘breaking-up,’ ‘cutting off’ in the middle of a conversation.  I’d go through a clump of trees, it would ‘break up’.  I’d go through rain drops, it would ‘break-up’.  I’d go into my basement study, it would ‘break-up’.  I’d shift my weight, from ‘one foot to the other,’ it would ‘break up’.   Needless to say, I was miffed!  “All I want is to carry on a decent conversation. But those blasted trees; those blasted rain drops; those blasted walls – keep ‘cutting me off’!”

        God feels the same.  “All I want is to carry on a decent conversation, a decent relationship with my children.  But that blasted judgmentalism -- that blasted alcoholism -- that blasted pornography – that blasted greed -- keeps ‘cutting me off.

        To clarify.  Listen.  God doesn’t direct wrath toward persons. God directs wrath toward the behavior of persons, that ‘cuts off’ relationship with Him. 

For example, God doesn’t despise David in II Samuel 11 – He despises the adultery of David in 11 Samuel 11.  God doesn’t despise Peter in Luke 22 – He despises the betrayal of Peter in Luke 22. God doesn’t despise Paul in Acts 8 – He despises the violence of Paul in Acts 8.

Get the point?  Our behavior stirs the wrath of God.  Isaiah 59:1ff  accentuates such truth:  “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from…God.  Your sins have hidden his face from you…”  (Isaiah 59:1ff) 

  

One summer, I did ‘a bonding moment’ with my daughter, venturing into a water park for the first time in years.  Frankly, I was petrified as I faced attractions like: the Meltdown – the Wild Thang – the Jet Scream -- and the Cow – A – Bunga.   But it really wasn’t bad at all.  I mean:  if you stay within the designated area – you know: the right chute, you’re OK.  But boy, get in the wrong chute, and you’re ‘creamed’.

So too for life.  Get into the ‘right chute,’ and your OK.  Get into the ‘wrong chute,’ and you’re creamed’.  Staying within the fold and grasp of God is all about getting into the ‘right chute.’

It’s not about being ‘a kill-joy’; it’s not about being ‘a dork’.  It’s about ‘having a blast’ within the right boundaries.  Psalm 16:5ff says it best:  “Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.   Surely I have a delightful inheritance.  [For I have a God] …who counsels me…”   (Psalm 16:5-7).

Isn’t that great insight?  I have a God who counsels me.  Not a God who condemns me, but a God who guides me away from the wrath and ‘brutal things of life’.  Therefore we heed Paul’s counsel to “….stand firm and hold to the [traditions] passed on to you…[And] may…Jesus Christ…who loved us and…gave us…good hope…strengthen you in every good deed, and [every good] word.”  (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

The story of Ulysses is epic.  As the tale goes, IUlysses returns from the siege of Troy, sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.  But then it happens:  Sirens come ‘alongside’-- seductive, singing creatures, who lured sailors to certain pleasure, but also certain doom. Well, Ulysses doesn’t just stand there.  Ulysses ‘fights back,’ taking extreme measures.  Taking wax, he places it in the ears of every sailor on board.    Taking himself, he moves to the center of the boat and straps himself to the mast.  Only then, does he resist the Sirens; only then, does he stay committed.

We too must ‘strap ourselves to the mast,' which for Christ-followers is the Cross and the Cross alone. For only then, do we resist Sirens; only then, do we stay committed.   For we are in extreme times, and extreme times demand extreme measures  if we are to resist evil and embrace good.

Resist evil and embrace good!  Keep your ‘cell-connection, clear.  Stay within the ‘right chute’.  'Strap' yourself to the Cross.

For not only is it not nice to fool Mother Nature, it’s not nice to fool Father God.  So, don’t do it.  

For God doesn’t want you caught up in an earth-quake, God wants you caught up in a ‘life-quake,’ ‘breaking forth’ good things:  blessing, not bane -- triumph, not trouble – glory, not guilt – wonder not wrath!