Be afraid, be very afraid!
We hear a lot about God’s love, and we believe that God loves because He said it. We believe that the Bible is inspired by God Himself, and in John 3:16 He says, “God so loved the world”. God is speaking here about an event, the crucifixion, but His love is as He is, eternal. So we may say that God so loves the world, present tense.
In Psalm 76:7, we learn “You are feared; no one can stand against you when you are angry.” (NCV) Then in Romans 11:22 it says,“So you see that God is kind and also very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But God is kind to you, if you continue following in his kindness. If you do not, you will be cut off from the tree.” (NCV) And in Zechariah 1:2 God tells the Israelites and us also something that should be seriously considered, “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.” (NCV)
On July 8, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut Jonathan Edwards preached his famous message, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God!” But today many Christians seem to feel that that was a blasphemous message. That God doesn’t get angry and will overlook nearly any behavior as long as that person believes in Him and does some of the things that they think/feel He wants them to.
The real truth, the fact is that God does get angry with people and when He does it is very dangerous for that person. When any individual refuses to honor God as sovereign and will not submit to His will for their lives they then anger Him.
They anger Him because they are bringing destruction on their lives and possibly others also. God always wants what is best for us, even if we don’t agree, He being God does know what the best is for us. It angers Him when we reject His guidance and support. That is the first expression of His anger. He allows us to go the way we want and doesn’t interfere.
If we persist, He will not protect us from the consequences of our will and action. Then, comes the ultimate consequence, being forbidden from entering Heaven, The Kingdom of God. Heaven is heaven because God is obeyed, so, those who refuse to obey will not enter.
Commonly, when unfortunate or tragic events occur in life people blame God. They do so because they know God could have intervened but didn’t. What they fail to realize is that they rejected Him when He was trying to prevent their foolishness, or that they had separated themselves from His protection with their rebellion. It may also be simply the consequences of life itself. If God did bring it to come about, it is for their good, such as parental discipline. In Ezekiel 33:11 we hear the heart of God, “Tell them, ‘As sure as I am the living God, I take no pleasure from the death of the wicked. I want the wicked to change their ways and live”, and in Revelation 3:19 He says, “As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. Be zealous, therefore, and repent!” (Lexham English Bible)
So, we should be very afraid to separate ourselves from God. We separate ourselves from God when we persist in our way rather than His way. We will always live a better life if we will allow God to guide us, and eternity will be much more pleasant.
We do ourselves an injustice if we compare our lives with someone else. For one thing we are never fully aware of their lives. Their secrets are just that, secrets. But also we might be very unhappy if we actually had their lives. The point is, our lives are always better if we are in a right relationship with God. We have a greater assurance, eternal hope, fuller wisdom and understanding. We realize God’s love for us and we then are strong enough to love others more. The list of benefits goes on and on, improving every aspect of our life.
To wrap up, yes God is love and loves us lavishly. We can do nothing to make Him love us more or love us less. But let us never believe He will love us foolishly. His love for us causes Him to constantly and continuously attempt to help us live life abundantly. At times we chafe at His involvement, but things could be much worse, we could make Him angry with us and forfeit His blessings, protection, provisions and Kingdom.
Beloved souls, allow God to be your Father in heaven, or as Paul says, “Abba”/ Daddy. Be a Kings Kid, a peculiar person, someone who is a child of God.
About my Father’s/Daddy’s business,
Pastor Joe