September 16, 2026
Wednesday, September 16
When I officiate a funeral, as I am often honored to do, I sit down with the family of the deceased first. I want to know this person better through the eyes of those who loved him most. I ask questions to draw out details that I couldn’t see. Often, it’s hard for them. How do you sum up a person’s entire personality in a few words? Yet when Moses asked God to show His glory—His full self—God responded by telling Moses (and us) about two characteristics: His mercy and His wrath. We’re in a series about forgiveness. The knowledge that we cannot out-sin God’s capacity to forgive is one of the most beautiful truths I know. But God’s wrath is also one of His leading traits, and we find that fact less comforting.
Yesterday, I said that God’s wrath is not like human anger. It’s not a loss of restraint, an explosion of hostility. Today, I’ve got even better news than that. God’s wrath is an expression of His love. That’s very different from my anger. When I get angry, it’s almost always because my pride has been wounded in some way. A family member said something that hurt my feelings. Some moron talking on his cell phone cut me off in traffic. My loud neighbor woke me up in the middle of the night. Every time, it’s all about me. But God’s wrath is always a result of His love. We see this in the life of Jesus. Every day, people slandered Him, insulted Him, even plotted to kill Him. Yet He never struck back. But when He saw the misuse of the Temple, He reacted with anger. People had turned the Court of the Gentiles into a market. That was keeping people of all nations from worshipping there. That’s why we see Him cleanse the Temple. It was an act of righteous indignation, justifiable violence, because it was motivated by love.
Imagine you’re a woman dating a man and seriously considering marrying him. Now imagine he has a close friend, Bob, who keeps making passes at you. Bob really creeps you out; you even start to fear he might harm you in some way. You tell your man this, and he says, “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’ll admit Bob can come on a little strong at times. But he’s the shortstop on my softball team. If I say something to Bob, he might quit, and then where would we be? Personally, I think you should be flattered that he likes you.” Would you think perhaps this man doesn’t really love you? You probably don’t want him to kill Bob or do anything else illegal, but you would want him to feel angry enough to stand up for you. You’d want him to be on your side.
God’s wrath is always a result of love. It strikes against anything that harms His people. That includes those who victimize others, and it includes the sin and the idols that damage our souls. We don’t like to think of ourselves this way, but sometimes, we’re someone else’s “Bob,” the person who makes their life miserable. God loves them too much not to punish us. Other times, we’re under God’s wrath because we choose to turn away from Him. Like any good parent, He disciplines those He loves. If God didn’t care what happens to us, He would have no wrath.
“Lord, I wish I never had to be disciplined by you. But because I still struggle with sin, I know that sometimes I will face earthly consequences. Thank you for forgiving me, and not holding my sin against me. But thank you also for using those earthly consequences to teach me to hate my own sin, so that I might grow in righteousness. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
