Love and Anger

Sunday morning and we have done the first service of the day. It started at 0630 and went on until after 9. I was bleary, but the worship was wonderful; joyful, heartfelt, thoughtful and packed. There are still more services to go, but the next one is entirely in the local language so we have popped back for breakfast and theological discussion before returning for the end of that service and the next one which will be in English.

Over breakfast the conversation turned to the wrath and love of God. This was particularly interesting since we sang Stuart Townend's 'Before the throne' at the enthronement on Thursday, which song has been rejected by some because of its line 'the wrath of God was satisfied'. Both at the time and subsequently as I journeyed my mind has turned to this apparent conundrum of love and wrath. I do believe that our own brokenness and that of others who love us clouds the issue for us and makes us see these things as mutually exclusive. This morning I found myself expressing again the truth, as I see it, that God's wrath arises from His love, is due to it, and serves only to increase it. As a father, even a fallen one, my love for my children leads me to anger when they are self-destructive, and even though I will get cross at other things as well, this fallen selfish anger does not negate the love-driven anger that all parents know.

I cannot see that we can remove God's anger from the truth of the Gospel (or the Bible more widely) but I do think that there are two equal and opposite dangers of which we must beware as we consider it.

The first is the danger of wrath that overwhelms love. Such a picture of love is not the mighty, conquering, embracing and forgiving love that we see in God. It reflects our broken-ness and a fear of authority besotted with retribution, with power or with vengeance. This is not how the God who came as Christ to live and die and rise for our sins acts or is in his being.

The second danger is a view of love that is unable to know anger. We might wish for this, but love like this is shallow and powerless. Love that cannot anger is love that will not protect or govern us. We may well need to reconsider what we mean by anger, but clearly love of those for whom we care will arouse us to protect, guard, guide, and sometimes get cross. If this is true for us, how much more for God?

The key question in this theological minefield then is what does love look like when it is angry, and how long does that anger last. Here the Scriptures themselves answer; his anger lasts a moment but his love for ever. This is remarkable, but seems to reflect both our experience and the Bible. We live in love, we receive from love, we do not fear because of love. Remember always that it is love, not wrath, which is the nature of God; His anger, like so much else is only ever an expression of His nature. These things, arising as they do from Him are good, wholesome and healthy because they are always held in love, and love that is occasionally and necessarily angry looks very different from our first view of anger.