Romans 3:5b

"Is God unjust who inflicts wrath?"

I recently heard an associate professor of sociology from The College of New Jersey (Tim Clydesdale) describe our culture's modern view of God (a "theology", of sorts) as akin to that of one of America's most beloved pets, a Golden Retriever. They're cuddly, welcoming, warm, friendly, loving, and just basically nice. These are all virtues highly regarded in our day, and some of them may, in fact, describe God. But, they do not comprise the totality of who God is. Paul reminds us here in Romans (with a somewhat rhetorical question) that God is, in deed, just to inflict wrath (another way of restating Paul's question).

I confess that I rarely think of God in these terms, yet they are also who He is. And He's right to be and do so. I'm told to "fear God" (cf. I Peter 2:17), but I'm also told by my culture to not be afraid of God. I'm not sure that's right. He has the power and sovereign authority to condemn me to an eternity in Hell. I'm afraid of that. And while I don't want to constantly cower around Him, but rather receive His loving and all embracing forgiveness through Christ, I also don't want to ignore His righteous anger. As a child I never enjoyed getting spanked for doing bad things; it hurt and I was afraid of it, but it was justified. And also as a child my pervading thoughts about Mom and Dad were not fear but rather love (and still are), nevertheless the looming threat of punishment for wrongdoing was a yoke I carried with me throughout my growing-up years. This was a good thing, but it never undermined their love for me, and so in like fashion is a healthy fear of God and His overarching love for me.

I'm grateful for His discipline and rekindled remembrance of His rod. I'm also grateful for His grace that is ever over me.