God's Anger

Having someone angry at you is not fun.  I admit that my personality type would rather run from conflict, but while anger may fade, the root cause, if not addressed, remains. Recently I came face to face with this ugly monster, and it seems that I was at fault....believe it or not!! Let's face it, no one likes to hear personal criticism, even if it is constructive.  I'd like to say I took it well, but that would be far from the truth.  Later, after praying about the situation, I returned to the person and apologized for my behavior, vowing to try and avoid future conflicts.  In a perfect world, the other party would forgive me and there would never be any more conflict between us.  The operative words here are "perfect world", that's not where we live, yet.

 This same scenario plays out on a daily basis in our relationship with God.  Long ago, when Adam first messed things up for the rest of us, I wonder how different things would be if he had admitted his guilt, took responsibility for it and humbly asked for God's forgiveness. You know God would have forgiven him, and while there might have been some modifications made, the relationship would not have been irrevocably fractured.  Why Adam, why???

I guess the big question remains, is God still angry with us? Both testaments talk about this subject, take for instance Ephesians 2:3. "By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else."  Paul is telling us that before we made amends with God, by accepting his son, we were indeed on the outs, so to speak.  Obviously that is not how God envisions our relationship with him.  He makes it clear what we need to do to heal that rift, and the wise person will take him up on his amazing offer of grace and forgiveness.  For a long time I, myself, ignored his offer, not wanting to face the truth of my sinful nature.  Instead of being angry with me, God persisted in lovingly, but firmly calling me to repentance. Just like my friend or a parent, God's "righteous" anger is based upon our misunderstanding or blatant disobedience of his directives. He has every right to be angry, but like a friend or parent, he never stops loving us, even though we tick him off.

Are you still not sure where you stand with God?  Ask him, search the scriptures, and he will reveal His heart of love and forgiveness. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31

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