Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished” (Exodus 34:6-7). He is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. He shows us His love by both punishing sin and providing us with an escape: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Would Mack really want a God who would not punish evil? Would he be okay with a God who would not exert justice for the evil done to his daughter? Would God be good and loving if He said to Mack, “We’ll just let this slide”? Of course not. Ultimately, that is what every person must do: Either choose salvation through the atoning blood of Jesus or choose the wrath of the righteous God. Jesus Himself warned about the coming judgment and hell, commissioning His followers to proclaim the Gospel that the lost might be saved-that they might choose life (see Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 21:6-8). The Bible is very clear about why Jesus came to earth, humbly taking on the very nature of a servant (see John 3:16-18, Philippians 2:6-7).

God is only angry where anger is called for. Packer says in his book Knowing God, “a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil. His wrath is not self-indulgent, but rather, as theologian J.I. But God’s wrath is not a human anger that flares up because of wounded pride or envy.

It is as surely a part of His character as His love and mercy are. We cannot remove the wrath of God from Scripture.

The Shack by William Paul Young