The Wrath of God?

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 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.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:18-23

Hmmm. The wrath of God. This is something we don't talk about much as believers, but it's also what the rest of the world tends to focus on when they think about God. Maybe because we refuse to address it, so people are left to figure it out for themselves, left to assume that God is out to get them because they're "bad"? 

It would be so simple if God would just judge and punish "evil", and protect and reward "good", right? But it doesn't work that way. There are two seemingly-contradictory truths at work here: 1) God is holy and just and 2) God is gracious and merciful. That God is holy and just means that sin must be addressed and dealt with - no turning a blind eye or sweeping it under the rug. And the mother-sin, the sin from which all other sin flows, is when people deny God the number one position - in everything. That's who He is, and according to this passage, EVERYONE knows it. But "...although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."

God made us and knows us and loves us, and so His guidelines for living are the best thing for us. Period. And when we stop looking to God for how to live, the consequences aren't pretty - the Garden of Eden is exhibit A, and it all goes downhill from there. It really is that simple. 

So that's the bad news. The good news, the astounding news, the astonishing, beautiful, wonderful news is that it doesn't have to end this way. God provided full payment for this staggering sin-debt of ours. Paul writes a little later in this letter (Romans 6:23) that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Awesome, isn't it?

Thank you, Jesus.