Commentary; Posted: 11/2/05
A question asked: Is God angry with us?
Rev. John C. Blackford,
Religion Columnist
Is God angry with us, and is He showing His anger by the recent hurricanes and other convulsions in nature? Many, whether religious or not, are asking this question, along with concerns about terrorism, poverty and suffering.
There are some who say God is not involved or interested with our affairs, and has wound up the world like an eight-day clock, and then left us to our own devices. Most of us believe God is deeply committed to His creation, and are wondering if He is using these cataclysmic events to express His anger.
Traumatic occurrences in nature have always happened. Bad things have befallen the world. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said God ìcauses the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.î
In the familiar words of St. John 3:16, Jesus assured us ìGod so loved the world...î If we believe the Eternal One loves us and everything else on earth, then we can begin to understand that there is a purpose in all of these happenings. But there are no easy answers.
God has gotten our attention in the recent disasters. If these things make us think of what are the most important things in life and what our priorities should be, that is good. C.S. Lewis, the British writer who became a believer after many years of doubt, said: ìGod whispers to us in our pleasures...but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.î
Pain gets our attention, and in the crises times we hear Godís voice and see life more clearly. As that voice becomes clearer, our response to that voice is vital.
The Old Testament king, David, in the midst of trying times, said, ìI would have lost heart, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.î (Psalm 27:13,14).
Our obedient response to that voice can help us in circumstances that are difficult. The apostle Paul wrote: ìAll things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.î (Romans 8:28). In these trying times it may be hard to see any good or purpose in events, and we may question Godís intentions. It can help to remember the saying of an old Scotch pastor: ìWe must trust Him where we cannot trace Him.î
Several weeks ago on a national telecast, three prominent people were discussing the question, ìIs God angry with us?î and if the disasters that are occurring are His judgments on us. One, a pastor, pointed out that the Almighty is angry with sin, and that terrible things happen apart from any perceivable reason.
In the opening verses St. Luke 13 Jesus mentioned two events with which the people were familiar, the brutal treatment of some Galileans and the untimely deaths of dwellers in Siloam upon whom a tower fell. Then He asked, ìDo you think they were the worst sinners in Galilee or in Jerusalem?î and immediately answered the question: ìNo, they were not! But unless you repent, you will also perish.î
The Lord was stressing the importance of looking beyond the tragic circumstances of life, and doing an inventory of our spiritual lives. We lament the catastrophes that take place, and confess we do not understand why they occur, but we hold on tenaciously to our belief that the greatest thing about God is that He is a God of love, and that good can come from the worst of circumstances.
There is no easy answer to the question, ìIs God angry?î but our response can help us through difficult days.
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