Jim McGuiggan - Celebrating the Wrath of God: Reflections on the Agony and the Ecstasy of His Relentless Love

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The poet W. M. Clow has it right:

God loves to be longed for, he longs to be sought.
For he sought us himself with such longing and love,
He died for desire of us, marvelous thought!
And he longs for us now to be with him above.

His little book repeats the astonishing claim that God adores his creation and longs with an unceasing hunger to live with us in holy friendship as our Lord.

Many people reject this claim as nonsense. We live on a planetary Alcatraz, they tell us, a desolate wasteland. They believe that if there was a God who adored us, he wouldnt allow us to live this way, generation after generation after generation.

Mind you, Im not just talking about people who are atheists or agnostics. Many Christians are hiding lives of desperation behind masks that say theyre coping well, when, in fact, theyre struggling and losing against evil forces in their lives. Theyre fighting patterns of failure that horrify them with strength and durability. Theyve prayed, begged God for deliverance, and like the poor, bleeding woman in the Gospels, theyve gone to all the doctors and find themselves no better off. Theyve spent all they have, and now theyre listless, drained. Some parts of their lives are in shambles, and this affects other areas. The desert they live in seems to have no boundaries. Speechless with grief, they wonder where God is.

Their despondency makes sense. These people dont lie around in recliners with cold beers in their hands, critics of all they survey, enjoying verbal tussles that keep them from coming into contact with real life. No, theyre pain-wracked, brokenhearted people who are irritated beyond measure by glib explanations for their suffering. Their deep heartache and struggle is a holy place; we should enter only in a respectful and humble manner, leaving our plodding, overly technical books or slick seven-step cures at home.

This book isnt an exercise in Christian apologetics; its simply an exposition and proclamation that God is Lord of this wilderness we call life. The only answer to the question of suffering is God. He knows very well about the worlds awful wrongs and its inexpressible pain. In the end, its Gods character and his commitment to us that brings us assurance if assurance is to be had.

In every generation, God has been able to persuade millions of people whove been made skeptical through disappointment and loss that hes working a wondrous work thatll leave them speechless with joy when he finally brings them through to glory. Theyve come to trust in him and know theyll find him not only faithful but capable.

If youre able to give God a brave hearing, the agony of your own life and the vast agony of the world you care about will be easier to live with, easier to make sense of, easier to be hopeful about. He comes to all of us saying, Give me a chance, let me enter your life, dont give up on me. Before you and I are done, Ill convince you that all you fear and hate and run from will bring to you an eternal weight of glory. When its over youll say, I wish I could do it again, Id do it better. Id live more nobly and trustingly in the wilderness. Id watch for the signs along the way of Gods hand at work. Id be more assured and more at peace during my struggles.

But it isnt only those who hurt who need help. There are those of us whose life is as tame as last weeks bus schedule. We suffer no pain, arent lonely, our familys in good shape, and life is a breeze, and yet and yet we sense a profound emptiness. At the beginning of our Christian life, we heard the call of God like a trumpet. Our eyes lit up, we threw ourselves heartfirst into the battle, only later to settle for church attendance, happy songs, and interchurch rivalry. Life is fine, and we can relax because were no longer in jeopardy.

A mind-set like thats a killer. Gone is any sense of conflict with dark powers. Gone is the conviction that somehow were fighting Gods fight for him against all the forces of cynicism and oppression. Gone is the conviction that what we do in this life makes a difference at the cosmic level. Gone, too, is the sense that daily faithfulness is important to Gods galactic purpose.

Lets not lose our place in the biblical story of which were a part. As believers we are the colony of heaven, fighting our way through a wilderness world with a glad message of galvanizing truth: The wilderness isnt forever. The holy God who made us all has given up on none of us.

Weekly platitudes and assurances that God is a heavenly sweetheart who exists to see that his followers dont get hurt or hungry or disturbedthey have their price. For some, theyll do just fine, but for others, theres a restlessness, a feeling of disappointmentThis is it? This? This is what the biblical heroes in Israel and other nations went through purgatory for? This is what Paul had in mind when he This is what Paul ran halfway across the world to telltaking beatings and scourgings as he went, enduring loneliness and betrayal, hunger and slander? All that so we can sit and sing happy songs while humanity goes down into oblivion? This is what Christ died for?