When speaking of God, Christ, and the cross many get tripped up over notion of God's wrath. It sounds harsh. It makes many uncomfortable. It seems easier to avoid (as one denomination chose to do by removing "In Christ Alone" from their hymn book this past month for its inclusion of God's wrath). It suggests a stark contrast to the love of God.
However, wrath and love are not on opposite ends of the spectrum. They can (and do) go together, and perfectly, at that, when it comes to God. God's wrath is an expression of His love.
In King's Cross Tim Keller describes it using the following depiction,
If you don't believe in a God of wrath, you have no idea of your value. Here's what I mean. A god without wrath has no need to go the cross and suffer incredible agony and die in order to save you. Picture on the left a god who pays nothing in order to love you, and picture on the right the God of the Bible, who, because he's angry at evil, must go to the cross, absorb the debt, pay the ransom, and suffer immense torment. How do you know how much the "free love" god loves you or how valuable you are to him? Well, his love is just a concept. You don't know at all. This god pays no price in order to love you. How valuable are you to the God of the Bible? Valuable enough that he would go to these depths for you...Your conception of God's love-and of your value in His sight-will only be a big as your understanding of his wrath. (177-178)
God's wrath was poured out on Christ on the cross. And by doing so, God was beginning to reverse the reign and curse of sin, the object of His wrath. Because of His love for us, God was destroying the very things (sin and death), which had destroyed His good creation. Through the pouring out of His wrath, God was demonstrating His great love for us.
And that is love unlike any other.
However, wrath and love are not on opposite ends of the spectrum. They can (and do) go together, and perfectly, at that, when it comes to God. God's wrath is an expression of His love.
In King's Cross Tim Keller describes it using the following depiction,
If you don't believe in a God of wrath, you have no idea of your value. Here's what I mean. A god without wrath has no need to go the cross and suffer incredible agony and die in order to save you. Picture on the left a god who pays nothing in order to love you, and picture on the right the God of the Bible, who, because he's angry at evil, must go to the cross, absorb the debt, pay the ransom, and suffer immense torment. How do you know how much the "free love" god loves you or how valuable you are to him? Well, his love is just a concept. You don't know at all. This god pays no price in order to love you. How valuable are you to the God of the Bible? Valuable enough that he would go to these depths for you...Your conception of God's love-and of your value in His sight-will only be a big as your understanding of his wrath. (177-178)
God's wrath was poured out on Christ on the cross. And by doing so, God was beginning to reverse the reign and curse of sin, the object of His wrath. Because of His love for us, God was destroying the very things (sin and death), which had destroyed His good creation. Through the pouring out of His wrath, God was demonstrating His great love for us.
And that is love unlike any other.
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