Holy Wrath

Did you ever wonder what makes God angry?  We think of Jesus as friend, Prince of Peace, light, healing, and (thankfully) redeemer.  All of these are true.  We do remember that time He got mad and trashed the temple because of the money-changers and swindlers.  But it is not easy to think of Jesus in the context of anger or wrath.  There are, however, things that make God (Jesus) mad.

The first is when someone makes life difficult for God's people.  God's people can be the sheep that know His voice, the "little ones" who God protects, the saints, those who (in Revelation) are marked by God and 'do not belong to the earth,' the "least of these" from Matthew 25, the "brokenhearted" and the redeemed (the list is probably not all inclusive).  God loves His people and He is both possessive and passionate about protecting them.  So, those that spill the blood of the saints, those that ignore His people, those that harm His sheep and those that cause others to fall are on God's bad list.  In Revelation 15 these people receive God's wrath.

The second thing that universally (in Scripture) stirs up the ire of God is when people worship something other than the one-true-God.  Whether it is our possessions, rivers, oceans, graven images, demons, celestial bodies, nature, other people or self, God is upset.  God meant it when He said, "Thou shall have no other God before me."

Finally, I think God doesn't like our haughtiness when we believe God owes us an explanation for why the events of the world happen like they do.  I think it is ok to wonder about this but when we resort to shaking our fist at God and cursing Him for what is happening around us, I think God wonders why we think we can see the whole picture of eternity and bring all things to their right and proper end. 

These are the exact things that happen in Revelation 15.  Saints are persecuted and killed.  God's sheep have been harmed by those given charge to protect them.  People God is giving a break and a last chance choose to shake their fists and curse Him.

I wonder ... do we see any of those things happening in our world today? Randy