The Beauty of God's Wrath

We need it during times like these.

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash (edited)

“Hail, hail Lion of Judah, let the Lion roooaaar!” I sing to my toddlers at the dining table, growling on the last word for dramatic (and comedic) effect. They giggle with their mouths full, the juice from their grapes dripping from their chins. The laughter is cathartic for them, but for me it’s the song that is giving me an opportunity to release some things.

Since Genesis 3, evil has run wild through our world, but it feels thicker these days. Maybe it’s because the news of it chirps for attention from our pockets and purses. Maybe it’s because even when you decide to shut the black box off for a bit, you still end up talking to someone who starts a sentence with, “Did you hear…?”

My grandmother was born in 1920. She would have been my age before she had a television in her home. She liked to call it “the nut box.” She passed away in 2018, so she knew about smartphones, but she never had her own. She probably thought we were the nut boxes now, carrying all this chatter in our pockets.

So, when it all gets overwhelming I use my nut box to play a song like “Lion” (yes, yes, the irony is not lost on me), and I try to release my rage to the only One who can wield it righteously.

You don’t hear a lot about God’s wrath these days; it hasn’t been en vogue for a while. I think we should bring it back.

We need God’s wrath. We need it when we read news of children being molested. We need it when we watch fires ravage entire neighborhoods. We need it when it’s been “three months since war broke out”, and then “one year”, and then “two”, and then on and on. We need it when the bodies of hostages are released (as if a corpse can experience freedom). We need it when our anxiety rises like flood waters and the high ground has all but disappeared.

So, I roar with the music and imagine the One who will come with a sword extending from his mouth like fangs “to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:15-16).

I give thanks that though God’s wrath extends even to me, His mercy does as well. I confess the truth that choosing to love our enemies does not mean they will go unpunished. I release the pride that tells me I am wise enough to make these judgments.

“Prepare the way, prepare the way of the Lord,” I sing/shout as my kiddos and I dance through lunch.

Beauty in Movement
I have spent years of my life unable to walk without pain, so I don’t take the ability to lift this amount of weight for granted.

Beauty in Legacy
This cross necklace belonged to my grandmother (yes, the same one who called her television “the nut box”). I wear it every day.

In pursuit of Beauty,