Look at the Cross. When Jesus died on the Cross for undeserving sinners like us, what do you see? We see the simultaneous expression of God’s love and God’s anger!

At the Cross, God showed His anger at sin. He poured out His anger on Jesus, our Substitute. At the Cross, God showed His love for sinners. He poured out His love on us, the sinners. 

The Cross shows us how God handles anger. The Cross is our model for ‘anger management’.

[A] At the Cross, we see that God’s anger is redeeming.

Our relationship with God was broken by our sin and rebellion. Was God angry? Yes! What did He do in His anger? He promised to send the seed of the Woman to crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). This promise was finally fulfilled when Jesus died on the Cross for sinners. We see therefore that in His anger, He did not destroy what is already broken. Instead, He acted to repair what needs to be repaired. God’s anger actually makes things better. His anger is a redeeming anger.

When our spouse lets us down . . . when our children rebel against our authority . . . when our friends betray us . . . we are angry. But is the anger redeeming?  Does that anger operate to separate us or bring us together? Does it repair or damage the relationship further?

[B] At the Cross, we see God’s anger is communicative.

From the time we rebelled against God till the Cross at Calvary, God has been speaking to us (His people) about our sins. He doesn’t just drop hints, explode in anger arbitrarily, put up smokescreens, say “It’s OK” when it isn’t . . .  No, He speaks honestly and truthfully, He tells us where the problem lies. Even after the Cross, God continues to speak to us, telling us of our desperate need and His loving provision. He communicates honestly, in His anger. 

Do we talk? And when we talk, are we honest? I am not calling you to ‘let him/her have it’. I am exhorting you to speak in honesty what is really going on inside you, what drives your anger and irritation. God speaks. Do you?

[C] At the Cross, we see God’s anger is patient.

Remember that the initial wrong, the betrayal, took place in Genesis 3. Instead of taking a rash “I-will-settle-it-now” attitude, He took His time to work through the problem. How long? From Genesis 3 to Matthew 27, it is roughly 4000 years! S-L-O-W to anger!! Yet throughout this period of time, He wasn’t adopting an “accept-anything-and-affirm-everything” stance. Deliberate words were spoken, purposeful actions were done, word for word, step by step, leading up to Calvary.

Is there purpose and timeliness in our anger? Or is it (normally) rash, just to let off steam and feel better? Do we pick our words as well as time and place to tell the other person our anger? Is our anger patient?

[D] At the Cross, we see God’s anger is sacrificial.

The Cross costs God something. It costs the sacrifice of His only Son. No greater sacrifice could He give than that. In His anger, He acted for our good!

When we are angry, is it about self-interest or his/her-welfare? Is our anger sacrificial? Are we willing to do something that will cost us and yet result in the good of the person who provoked us?

God’s anger is redeeming, communicative, patient and sacrificial. We are not called to be less angry, but more God-like in our anger. But how can I be like God in His anger? There is no magic formula. We become God-like when we invest time to walk with God. The closer we walk with God, the closer our anger will look like His. Are you willing?

WEI En Yi