Sunday small thought: Is God an angry God?

Having opened his letter with good news here comes the bad:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1 v 18)

This morning I think of a lady I pastored for many years and buried her in her old age who never came into the assurance of God’s love. She constantly lived under the shadow of God being angry with her. I’ve seen first-hand across the world anxious people trying to appease their angry gods, living under the shadow of wrath, fulfilling duties that have no meaning except to off-set bad karma.

But this isn’t the God of the Bible whose perfect love never changes towards us. God acts because of His unchanging love. His act is Christ Jesus who did what we could never do or deserve and that is to save ourselves from this wrath. The good news is that He has reversed the bad news. However for those who try and hide the truth of this gospel all they have left is God’s wrath which for Paul is here now but will be fulfilled at the end of time. Is God an angry God? Yes, if you don’t see the other side of the coin which is He is a God of love.