WRATH...
Do you fear the wrath of God? Ask most this question and the response that you get will most likely be a consistent 'yes!'. How many of us have been taught to fear the wrath of God. Don't do this or God will punish you with wrath. The wrath of God will come upon man. These are things that we have heard, and keep with us, but have we really looked into this word to see if our vue of it is valid? To see if our fear concerning this wrath is worth holding onto and walking among? Perhaps it may be. In this world wrath is a horrible thing that no one in their right mind would consider asking for. So then, what is this wrath that we are talking about?
Wrath comes from a Greek word that means desire. We both can admit quickly that we have never considered wrath and desire to be of the same origin. I wouldn't say that I have a strong wrath for my wife, right? However, if we look further into the word, we will see it begin to come alive and reach out to us in a different way. If we trace the Greek further, this word wrath is derived from a word which means to stretch or reach out. So here we have a desire that is stretched out or reached forth towards something. I want to take this time to share with you a phrase that I have come across and held onto for some time now concerning the word wrath. It has been described as a 'violent passion'. Don't worry, I didn't make this phrase up. Strong's did so I suppose now you can trust it. Either way, this phrase captured my attention and my heart and my mind concerning the wrath of God.
If we vue God as one that is cold and disconnected and unwilling to rescue and not continuously love, then wrath may be sufficient to most who take that vue. Yet, if we vue God as warm and connected and willing to love and rescue all men at all costs, then 'violent passion' is most fitting in my opinion. Have you been so passionate about something that when anything destructive comes along it disrupts your inner being? My first thought concerning this was of my children. I have this passion inside of me that continuously desires for them to be safe and well and progressing into the good and right ways of God. My heart longs for their wellness and reaches out or stretches towards them at all times with the fullest of all that I have within me. If something comes along that disrupts that wellness or interferes with their peace and happiness, this passion within me triggers a violent force of love that would do anything to help them. Violent isn't necessarily evil or gross or wrong as we have come to know in our common usage, but rather it stresses a force towards something. A violent storm doesn't necessarily cause damage. It is violent because it is forceful. It may bring a forceful rain upon well needed crops. Or forceful wind upon trees that need trimming. You may curse the violent storm, no realizing that it was trimming the trees that may have destroyed your home and family. Yes, the force may cause damage, but nonetheless the damage comes so that repair can follow. We work to force blood into the tissues of our muscles so that they can tear and repair. That is how we grow muscles. Perhaps you are being violent to your body when you work out. Do you see? Violence today as we know it is forceful evil upon people, but let us see violent as it is outside of the context we typically have seen it on television and social media. Violence is force against something.
Violent passion! Force desire! Love so strong and a desire so willing that is reaches out with a force in order to help it. God loves humanity with such a strong desire that the error we bring among us stirs a violent passion within God to correct and discipline us of those errors. Isn't that what a father does for his children? Are we not supposed to correct and discipline with love if those errors are deeply rooted and continuously bringing destruction to our children? Are we wrong to have the love and passion and desire stirred within us in such a measure that we reach out and lay upon them all that it takes to correct them from this destructive error? Is it not love reaching out as you spank their bottom for putting their hand upon the electrical outlet? Would it be right for a parent to allow that to happen without a violent passion interfering and protecting them? Violent passion! I have that for my children and I have no thoughts within me that believe God doesn't have that towards you and I as well.
This violent passion, this wrath comes upon all the erring ways of mankind. In the smallest or greatest measure. Whether we hold a little hidden lie within ourselves or we commit the most darkest murder, we should expect that no wrong we commit goes unnoticed and unaddressed. All wrong is addressed in its due time and manner. It is addressed with what is called wrath, yes, but better it is addressed with a violent passion. Is the wrong you commit yourself very gross and heavy? Then expect the passion of God towards you to be stirred in that measure in order to correct and discipline and turn you from the weight and bondage of it. Why do we not give God the right to be strong and forceful in his love? Why is God labeled as unjust or mean or raging with wrath when he is love? Is this 'wrath' not a forceful expression of his love as we would do for our own children? I love you so much that I am willing to inflict you with a miserable condition in order to turn you from this wrong that is destroying you. Is that hard to receive? If we saw God as he truly is, we would have no problem with this idea. But unfortunately many do not vue God as they ought, and their vue of wrath is partial and misled and darkened.
My cousin was out of his right mind one day. He found himself addicted to drugs again and this time he went to extreme measures to fulfill his addictive desire. He wanted to stop this cycle of addiction but just couldn't on his own. This one day, the violent passion of God constrained him. After facing authorities with his gun drawn, he then fell upon his own gun shooting himself in the chest. Gods love caused that bullet to miss his vital organs, but his love did inflict my cousin with serious wounds and a long season of his life in prison. God's love protected my cousin and put him under conditions that caused him to turn from his addiction at least for that time. Yes, that was God's violent passion reaching out to shake and stir up my cousins desires. It was brought to him in order to turn his desires and put him in his right mind. It was violent passion and I have no questions about this. It is proper to say it was God's wrath, but if you need to say violent passion to make it easier to receive, so be it! Amen. Either way it comes from God as perfect love and in a perfect way.
This violent passion works hand in hand with what we call 'punishment' or 'vengeance' or 'infliction' or 'torment'. Yes, those words appear harsh, and at times they are especially in our culture today. God punishes and inflicts and takes vengeance on all that is against God - all that is ungodly. All ways that oppose his love is assigned wrath and those other terms mentioned. Why wouldn't he? If we want God to be faithful to us in the good things, why are so afraid to admit he is faithful in addressing our erring ways? Do we say, 'Be faithful God when I do well, but when I carry error within my thoughts and words and actions, please do not have wrath on me? Do we say, 'Please withhold your violent passion. Please do not reach out with your forceful love in order to correct me'. Is that how are to behave and communicate and relate to God? Unfortunately, most do and religion confirms and supports that. I believe that if we vue these terms in the context of violent passion, they are most fitting and most necessary.
Inflict upon me God a pressure and trial that causes me to turn from my wrongs. Teach me lessons to protect me from destroying myself. Punish my erring ways so that I can see you more clearly. Many may have a problem asking God for these things. Perhaps it is because they are aware of their wrongs and know what the violent passion may bring according to what God sees best. Perhaps they are afraid to admit and have their wrongs revealed by the fire of Gods violent passion. Perhaps they prefer to take the wide and easy road, rather than the narrow road of suffering. Perhaps they are afraid of what the world will see when God reveals their hidden wrongs. Perhaps they love their wrong desires too much to ask God to reach out and take care of the erring ways. I know because I lived a life this way and I feared the wrath of God. That is, until his love and light penetrated me and awakened my dark vue of himself. He continues to reveal and unveil and disclose his Christ among me. Correct me oh God. Discipline me for my own good. May your wrath continue to come upon all wrong so that we may be renewed in right ways (righteousness). Make me right God by any means necessary. Set coals upon my head and kindle your fire within me so that I may be consumed by your violent and passionate love.
May your violent passion continue unto all of mankind as you have determined it will do. We need your forceful love. I need your forceful love!
Switchvues
Wrath comes from a Greek word that means desire. We both can admit quickly that we have never considered wrath and desire to be of the same origin. I wouldn't say that I have a strong wrath for my wife, right? However, if we look further into the word, we will see it begin to come alive and reach out to us in a different way. If we trace the Greek further, this word wrath is derived from a word which means to stretch or reach out. So here we have a desire that is stretched out or reached forth towards something. I want to take this time to share with you a phrase that I have come across and held onto for some time now concerning the word wrath. It has been described as a 'violent passion'. Don't worry, I didn't make this phrase up. Strong's did so I suppose now you can trust it. Either way, this phrase captured my attention and my heart and my mind concerning the wrath of God.
If we vue God as one that is cold and disconnected and unwilling to rescue and not continuously love, then wrath may be sufficient to most who take that vue. Yet, if we vue God as warm and connected and willing to love and rescue all men at all costs, then 'violent passion' is most fitting in my opinion. Have you been so passionate about something that when anything destructive comes along it disrupts your inner being? My first thought concerning this was of my children. I have this passion inside of me that continuously desires for them to be safe and well and progressing into the good and right ways of God. My heart longs for their wellness and reaches out or stretches towards them at all times with the fullest of all that I have within me. If something comes along that disrupts that wellness or interferes with their peace and happiness, this passion within me triggers a violent force of love that would do anything to help them. Violent isn't necessarily evil or gross or wrong as we have come to know in our common usage, but rather it stresses a force towards something. A violent storm doesn't necessarily cause damage. It is violent because it is forceful. It may bring a forceful rain upon well needed crops. Or forceful wind upon trees that need trimming. You may curse the violent storm, no realizing that it was trimming the trees that may have destroyed your home and family. Yes, the force may cause damage, but nonetheless the damage comes so that repair can follow. We work to force blood into the tissues of our muscles so that they can tear and repair. That is how we grow muscles. Perhaps you are being violent to your body when you work out. Do you see? Violence today as we know it is forceful evil upon people, but let us see violent as it is outside of the context we typically have seen it on television and social media. Violence is force against something.
Violent passion! Force desire! Love so strong and a desire so willing that is reaches out with a force in order to help it. God loves humanity with such a strong desire that the error we bring among us stirs a violent passion within God to correct and discipline us of those errors. Isn't that what a father does for his children? Are we not supposed to correct and discipline with love if those errors are deeply rooted and continuously bringing destruction to our children? Are we wrong to have the love and passion and desire stirred within us in such a measure that we reach out and lay upon them all that it takes to correct them from this destructive error? Is it not love reaching out as you spank their bottom for putting their hand upon the electrical outlet? Would it be right for a parent to allow that to happen without a violent passion interfering and protecting them? Violent passion! I have that for my children and I have no thoughts within me that believe God doesn't have that towards you and I as well.
This violent passion, this wrath comes upon all the erring ways of mankind. In the smallest or greatest measure. Whether we hold a little hidden lie within ourselves or we commit the most darkest murder, we should expect that no wrong we commit goes unnoticed and unaddressed. All wrong is addressed in its due time and manner. It is addressed with what is called wrath, yes, but better it is addressed with a violent passion. Is the wrong you commit yourself very gross and heavy? Then expect the passion of God towards you to be stirred in that measure in order to correct and discipline and turn you from the weight and bondage of it. Why do we not give God the right to be strong and forceful in his love? Why is God labeled as unjust or mean or raging with wrath when he is love? Is this 'wrath' not a forceful expression of his love as we would do for our own children? I love you so much that I am willing to inflict you with a miserable condition in order to turn you from this wrong that is destroying you. Is that hard to receive? If we saw God as he truly is, we would have no problem with this idea. But unfortunately many do not vue God as they ought, and their vue of wrath is partial and misled and darkened.
My cousin was out of his right mind one day. He found himself addicted to drugs again and this time he went to extreme measures to fulfill his addictive desire. He wanted to stop this cycle of addiction but just couldn't on his own. This one day, the violent passion of God constrained him. After facing authorities with his gun drawn, he then fell upon his own gun shooting himself in the chest. Gods love caused that bullet to miss his vital organs, but his love did inflict my cousin with serious wounds and a long season of his life in prison. God's love protected my cousin and put him under conditions that caused him to turn from his addiction at least for that time. Yes, that was God's violent passion reaching out to shake and stir up my cousins desires. It was brought to him in order to turn his desires and put him in his right mind. It was violent passion and I have no questions about this. It is proper to say it was God's wrath, but if you need to say violent passion to make it easier to receive, so be it! Amen. Either way it comes from God as perfect love and in a perfect way.
This violent passion works hand in hand with what we call 'punishment' or 'vengeance' or 'infliction' or 'torment'. Yes, those words appear harsh, and at times they are especially in our culture today. God punishes and inflicts and takes vengeance on all that is against God - all that is ungodly. All ways that oppose his love is assigned wrath and those other terms mentioned. Why wouldn't he? If we want God to be faithful to us in the good things, why are so afraid to admit he is faithful in addressing our erring ways? Do we say, 'Be faithful God when I do well, but when I carry error within my thoughts and words and actions, please do not have wrath on me? Do we say, 'Please withhold your violent passion. Please do not reach out with your forceful love in order to correct me'. Is that how are to behave and communicate and relate to God? Unfortunately, most do and religion confirms and supports that. I believe that if we vue these terms in the context of violent passion, they are most fitting and most necessary.
Inflict upon me God a pressure and trial that causes me to turn from my wrongs. Teach me lessons to protect me from destroying myself. Punish my erring ways so that I can see you more clearly. Many may have a problem asking God for these things. Perhaps it is because they are aware of their wrongs and know what the violent passion may bring according to what God sees best. Perhaps they are afraid to admit and have their wrongs revealed by the fire of Gods violent passion. Perhaps they prefer to take the wide and easy road, rather than the narrow road of suffering. Perhaps they are afraid of what the world will see when God reveals their hidden wrongs. Perhaps they love their wrong desires too much to ask God to reach out and take care of the erring ways. I know because I lived a life this way and I feared the wrath of God. That is, until his love and light penetrated me and awakened my dark vue of himself. He continues to reveal and unveil and disclose his Christ among me. Correct me oh God. Discipline me for my own good. May your wrath continue to come upon all wrong so that we may be renewed in right ways (righteousness). Make me right God by any means necessary. Set coals upon my head and kindle your fire within me so that I may be consumed by your violent and passionate love.
May your violent passion continue unto all of mankind as you have determined it will do. We need your forceful love. I need your forceful love!
Switchvues
