And Now for the Wrath of God

Coincidentally, a scripture I read this morning plays off of the one I spoke of yesterday. It's neat how the Lord does that to me. The scripture says, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them" (Romans 1:17-19).

So, what I'm understanding is this: if I hide the Truth using my sin (hold the truth in unrighteousness) then God shows me His incredible power against my sins (His wrath; my ungodliness & unrighteousness). God gives me His righteousness, and I know what it is because He gives me that wisdom. He has revealed this to me through my faith.

Okay, that wrath of God part sounds extremely intense. I've never seen the wrath of God revealed from heaven!

Or haven't I?

I don't believe our Heavenly Father sends a hurricane or plague each time He sends His wrath. In fact, just like every sin is different according to man, God reveals things to man differently according to His will. Does that make sense?

A depressing example is a car wreck involving a drunk driver. Most of them, it saddens me to say, result in the sober people in critical condition or dead and the drunk usually walks away with minor injuries. In all actuality, I know the drunkard has the deepest wounds because he's the one who has to live with his guilt.

Not that God wanted that wreck to happen or any injuries to occur. Not that He Himself caused the wreck. But God is mysterious and utilizes tragedies to purify man. I believe this to be a kind of wrath of God.

Another, more minor (and quite silly) version can be the days when I fail to properly take care of my dogs and one or all of them have accidents in their kennels. I should care for them rather than cover up righteous living with my slothfulness. It's a rather smelly wrath of God, one which I have hopefully learned from by now.

There's a variety of wraths of God which we tend to overlook. He comes to us in so many forms, so many colors, so many sounds. I believe it's time to recognize His wrath as what it is: an act of His love for us.

Becca