Wrath?
Really?
God has wrath and it’s directed at me? I read this again today in John 3:36. Just a couple of dozen verses after one, if not the most quoted verse in the bible. A verse that stands as a testament – the testament – regarding the enormity of God’s love for me.
A foundation for understanding God’s grace.
Then, 20 verses later… A reminder that turning down His Grace subjects me to His wrath.
Paradox!
Ultimate Grace from a God who is love.
Angry wrath from that same god.
Both together. At the same time.
How is that possible?
Perhaps I’m misunderstanding His wrath. Maybe His wrath isn’t a judgement that I receive for sinning and failing. Maybe it’s the life I already live.
When I fear incurring God’s wrath I have to start from a position of having done something sinful. But all of my life is sinful. I’m bound by my sin. That’s why I need His Grace.
When John speaks of incurring God’s wrath he does by framing it through the absence of Grace. If I reject Christ and God’s grace I’m left to live in this world as it is. Hateful, violent, selfish… A worldly life, experiencing wrath.
However, when I accept His love and Grace, entering into loving relationship with him I’m able to transcend the wrath of the world.
Hmmm….
I have more pondering to do.
the Verity Paradox 
A great movie! Really! Layers and layers of wonderful insight. As for Paradise Lost – I never read it. It’s one of those classics that was in the pool of potential required reads in school, but due to whimsy I never got assigned that one. Not that that’s a good reason to not read it! (Whew – there were a few negatives in that sentence, eh?). I’ll just have to add it to my growing reading list.
As for this quote from The Devil’s Advocate…
The main thrust of Milton’s monologue is that God gave us gifts that including all the extraordinary talents that make us human and then set down rules that oppose the realization of these gifts.
What a cleaver manipulation! Ya gotta hand it to that guy. He knows how to use our humanity to cast doubt. But hey? What would we expect? That’s his job right?
Milton is 100% correct. If the gifts we were given were given to us for our own glory. But they weren’t. They were given to us so that we could glorify God.
Look, but don’t touch? What’s he referring to? What are we forbidden to touch? Better yet, WHY are you doing the touching! Is it for you? Is it to satisfy some human pleasure?
Why is it that we want the feelings and trappings that go along with sin? Could it be because I’ve not yet fully opened my heart to the change that will result when God’s spirit indwells me?
I believe that when my heart is changed by God’s spirit I will want to please Him, not me! I’ll WANT to. I’ll feel that I have to. It will replace my guilty desires.
Again – another topic to ponder in more depth.
Thanks for raising it! 🙂
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“Guilt – it’s like a bag of bricks. All you gotta do is set it down….Who are you carrying all those bricks for anyway? God? Is that it? God? Well, I tell ya, let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He’s a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do? I swear, for His own amusement, His own private cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It’s the goof of all time. Look, but don’t touch. Touch, but don’t taste. Taste, don’t swallow. Aha ha ha. And while you’re jumpin’ from one foot to the next, what is He doin’? He’s laughin’. He’s a tight-ass. He’s a sadist. He’s an absentee landlord.”
From Milton’s Paradise Lost to Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate, the Devil always has the greatest lines.
I enjoyed reading your insights. Keep up the quality posts 🙂
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