Is God Mad at Me?

Once upon a time there was a mother with eight children.  She was a good mother – even a great mother. 

One day she was cooking in her kitchen and her little girl of five reached up to the stove where a pot was boiling.  Yes, the unfortunate happened.  The five-year-old reached for the handle of the boiling pot and pulled it down onto her head and arms.  She was severely burned.

Years after this accident, this Mom was telling me the story and she concluded it with “I think God is mad at me or that would not have happened to my little Jessie.”

I tell this story because it is symptomatic of how many feel toward God.  They view Him as an ogre who stands around all day just waiting for one of us to step out of line so He can zap us.  Or maybe, as in the case of my friend, God is up there somewhere just looking for some way of causing us grief because He is mad at us.

This view of God breaks my heart. 

Religion is not on the merit badge system.  God is not up there somewhere passing out merit badges for good deeds and then promptly taking them away for every misstep.

~You left the milk out and it spoiled.  ZAP.

~You didn’t dress your little girl warmly enough and she caught the flu.  ZAP.

~I didn’t kiss Carolyn in a proper manner this morning.  ZAP. 

No!

          NO!

                    N O !

God is not dangling our merit badges in front of us just to remind us to stay on the straight and narrow. 

The Bible I read continually reminds us of this ...

He is a God of great love.  Psalm 86:15  Jeremiah 29:11

He is a God of great compassion.  Psalm 51:1

He is a forgiving God.  I John 1:9 Hebrews 8:12

He is ever watchful over us.   Matthew 6:25-34

He is our friend.   John 15:12-15

He knows our name.  Isaiah 43:1

I don’t find a theology of “mad” anywhere in the Bible.  I do find a theology of love, compassion, mercy and grace. 

So if you fear that God is mad at you, have no fear.  God is love. 

Pure

Consistent

Redeeming

L O V E

That is the image of God that I want to pass along to you.

P Michael Biggs

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