Reply To: Knowing God, Chapters 15 & 16

[Lilla Langford]

Packer clarifies the issue that people raise; believing in God’s wrath is like condoning cruelty. The problem being that we ascribe to God, the form that human justice or retribution too often takes and the necessity of reminding ourselves that God is just and that He takes care of retribution. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.”
A friend told of an encounter with a guy who felt that he was good to go to heaven. Praying inwardly for what next to say, my friend asked him then, “Do you love God?” The man was taken aback and paused, Then blurted out, “Certainly not!”
“Why then would you want to spend eternity in the presence of someone you certainly don’t love?”
Oh that those we encounter would recognize that they are in need of à Savior.
Another woman we met recently had been active with her husband in an evangelical church for many years, but came to the point where she felt neglected by her husband to the point that she divorced him. Returning to this area of France with two daughters, one of whom had great difficultés adjusting to high school and was going to be home schooled the following year, she thought that a church might be a good place to find good friends. And the clincher for actually choosing to come to church was that one of her students (she teaches French to teenage immigrants) texted her: God loves you. May we reflect God’s grace in our relationship with her – a recognition of His goodness and Jesus’ propitiation of God’s wrath.