A Life in Exile

Though the last Wednesday Wisdom post about cicadas may still be on your mind as you read the title of this post, this is not a sequel to that topic. No, I have more substantial things in mind. In a world (at least in the United States) that likes to focus on the warm, fuzzy love of Jesus, where everyone wins a prize, and feelings should never be hurt, wrath is not a word commonly used. For those who have actually read the Bible, however, and claim to be lovers of Truth, we know that rebellion has been the name of the game since the beginning. This world is not as it should be—not as God created it to be.

The junk, mess, trials, and wars are a result of man’s rejection of God. Since the moment Adam and Eve chose, not to listen to God and instead listened to the deceptive voice of the serpent, people have been choosing their own way over God’s. What God allowed in man as part of his free will is now bent toward full rebellion as a result of sin’s poison that runs through our veins.

The better way.

God wasn’t taken by surprise by the choices of that first couple he created. He had a plan in mind all along. There would be a crushing of the Deceiver to make the way for the restoration of man and all creation to God.

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15 CSB)

God’s revelation of this plan to man begins with his first covenant with Abraham and then through his chosen nation of Israel. Man would continue to miss the mark in faith and obedience to the God of Creation, but the love of God continued to hold his wrath in check, making the way for the One, who knew no sin, to come, take on flesh, and die, paying the penalty on our behalf.

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Jesus made it clear in his conversation with Nicodemus, that God sent him to save the world, not condemn it. In fact, Jesus didn’t have to do anything to condemn mankind; mankind was already condemned by not believing in the promises of God. What was that main promise? A Messiah.

Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. (John 3:18)

People prefer darkness.

God made a beautiful, perfect garden—man chose the forbidden fruit. God made a covenant that required only faith and obedience—man chose idols and wickedness. God provided his Son to stand in our place on the cross—man chose to continue on the path to destruction. God had to act.

This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

God is love. He showed his love by making this beautiful world for us to live in perfect harmony and relationship with him. Even though man has rejected God’s plan, rejected his solution for sin, he continues to allow us to witness beautiful things in life: nature, a sunrise, a baby’s first cry, a wedding, a family, and so much more. God’s love is all around us, but the hearts of men are hardened. For those who continue to choose darkness over light, who refuse to acknowledge the God of Creation and Jesus Christ, his Son, wrath is coming.

A Holy God must have justice.

Pain is an inevitable part of this fallen life. When a child disobeys their parent and touches the stove, they will immediately feel the pain of the heat against their skin. When a student refuses to study in school, the test will reveal a failing grade. When a man seeks a relationship outside his marriage vows to his wife, he will experience guilt, loneliness, and loss. Disobedience to the righteous ways of God has consequences, even if the person doesn’t believe in such a God. We can’t escape justice and wrath, because he is the one who created it this way.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

During this period of grace, in which God is holding back his ultimate wrath on the world, we still have a taste of what is to come. Some is found in what I mentioned above—the natural consequences of sin and disobedience, but there is also in place a judicial system. It may look different from one country to the next, but there is an overarching theme: wrongdoing deserves punishment. Crime equals conviction. Retribution must be made to restore relationships. If a person has stolen money from a business, he can only be “made right” by returning what was taken. This is justice. This is a taste of what is to come.

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has provided justice for those who choose to confess their wrongdoing, their sin to him and believe on his name, choosing to turn from evil and instead walk in the way of Christ, the way of righteousness. This is the group who will avoid God’s wrath to come on the day of reckoning.

There is another taste or glimpse of God’s wrath that no one can avoid this side of eternity: acts of nature, wars, and acts of evil impact us all. For those in Christ, there is hope despite the strife, but for those still living in darkness, this is just a foretaste of the wrath to come, when mercy is removed completely and justice is complete.

God is love. His desire for mankind is that none would perish. Where do you stand in view of that great love? Have you accepted it and live by the light of Christ, or do you continue to turn your back to God in all his goodness and walk in your own way? Choose wisely, for God will have the last say.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these other posts God’s wrath: Gems from Genesis: Chapter 8, Gems from Genesis: Chapter 47, The Real Question, and Shaken, Not Stirred.