It’s important to remember we humans experience offense and wrath far different than God does. When we experience those emotions we can easily switch into our natural man identity and close off and be reactive. God however is unchanging in his identity. He is always a God of love and and a God of longsuffering and patience and kindness and mercy. He is also a God who is Just.I had a little fun with the 1828 Websters Dictionary, a favorite tool of mine for understanding the scriptures better by using the earliest English language dictionary.
One early definition of the word “offense” is to transgress a law.
Another early definition of the word “wrath” is just punishment of an offense or crime.
When I imagine God being offended and full of wrath, it emphasizes his just character. He allows the consequences of any law that is not obeyed.
If you step off a cliff, you experience the justice of God by falling. There are laws that are meant to be obeyed and when they are not there is a consequence to that law. This is justice. Even if it’s simply transgressing the law of gravity.
God allows our agency.
This is how we learn. Because he is just, we get to learn over and over again through the consequences of every law we break.
It is my deep personal belief that the very reason God commands us to give thanks in every circumstance, and to confess his hand in all things… the reason that we are commanded to redeem the negative or find what’s awesome in every experience…
The reason….
is because it’s a law.
And every law has a consequence. Or in other words, every law has a blessing!
If you’d like to learn more about this, check out my podcast, Ep. 70 “What’s Awesome about this?”
2 Responses
This reminds me of a scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants that states “There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated and when we obtain any blessing by God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” ( D&C 130: 20-21)
I love this law! It simply means that if you seek a blessing, find out what law is attached to it, and start abiding by that law. I love that these laws are universal and transcend men. They aren’t changed, but like flight in defying gravity, they can be harnessed and used for good. It just takes knowledge and understanding, and sometimes a bunch of falls from great heights, before the laws are understood.
Thank you so much, Brooke, for your insight and willingness to share. You’ve given me wonderful food for thought this morning.
Amen Kim! I love that scripture! Isn’t it amazing how many ways the Lord finds to bless us? When we really start to use our agency well, amazing things happen! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!