"For He is God: Good, Life, Truth, Love, Peace; His Clarity and His Unity suffereth Him not to be wroth. For I saw truly that it is against the property of His Might to be wroth, and against the property of His Wisdom, and against the property of His Goodness."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 46)
God is a Unity. All His characteristics align with each other and are never in opposition to one another. He is the epitome of Love. All His attributes stem from Love, and He exudes goodness, life, light, joy, peace and kindness. His character is represented by all the fruits of the Spirit pouring forth from Him at all times. Wrath is absolutely opposed to this goodness and gentleness of character, opposed to the very essence of God's nature which is Love. Love is who He is, so wrath is not who He is. The ancient Epistle to Diognetus, a Christian letter from around 150 AD, talks about this wonderful unity of character in God, saying, "He was always of such a character, and still is, and will ever be, kind and good, and free from wrath, and true, and the only one who is [absolutely] good." Bible passages that seem to show God as being wrathful in the Old Testament can be seen as simply a misunderstanding or incomplete revelation of who God is, with the full revelation being seen in the Son of God who had infinite kindness and forgave all who hurt Him. The wrath of God mentioned in passages in the New Testament can be seen as the passion of God to obliterate all the things that hurt His children - in other words, the passion of God against sin and death, not against His children! So there is absolutely no wrath or anger in God against us at any time. It is simply unfitting to the all-loving, all-wise, all-powerful Being we call Father and Friend who radiates only patience, kindness, gentleness and love. For God is a Unity; He is only love, only life, only light, only gentleness. He is only one way, not two. Jesus showed us the true character of God so plainly in His actions and words. He showed us a God who is so gentle that children would run to Him and sit in His lap with no fear and people who were called great sinners would seek out His company without fear of condemnation or a tongue-lashing. What a beautiful, calm, patient and gentle God we have! It is simply impossible for Him to be wrath!
"I am gentle and lowly in heart."
Matthew 11:29 (ESV)
A Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for showing us a God that is love and not wrath. Thank You for showing us we never have to be afraid of God!