What is the wrath of God? Is it the opposite of His love? Does it demonstrate a division in God’s character? Can God be True and yet be in opposition to Himself?
Clearly He cannot. He is. To think of God’s wrath as somehow different than His love is to misunderstand Who God Is. God is love. 1 John 4:8. There isn’t a time where His love fails or ceases.
That brings us back to the question: what is the wrath of God? In the Fellowship of the Ring there is an excellent scene where Gandalf faces a horrible creature, a Balrog. The Balrog seeks to destroy the entire fellowship. In that horrifying moment Gandalf stands before the Balrog and declares “You shall not pass!”
I think the scene illustrates excellently the wrath of God. Gandalf so loved the Fellowship that he opposed the Balrog – that which sought to destroy the Fellowship – with great anger, confidence and fortitude. The Fellowship wasn’t the object of Gandalf’s wrath –the destroyer, the Balrog, was alone the object of his wrath. It wasn’t a moment where Gandalf lacked love; love and wrath co-existed.
In the same way, God’s wrath is never the opposite of love; instead, God’s wrath demonstrates how much He loves us as He stands in opposition to anything that would seek to destroy our relationship and fellowship with Him. He stands before Lucifer and says “You shall not pass.” He sees us turning to a lie and He pulls out every stop to help us see the Truth.
In His wrath God doesn’t seek to destroy those whom He has adopted as His children. His love for us never ceases. Praise Him for His love and praise Him for His wrath!!!