God is Not Mad at You

God says "let us make man in our image."  Man says, "let's make God into our image!"  How does he do that?  With his “fallen” imagination, he projects his ideas and feelings onto God, in effect, “humanizing” Him.  Through Isaiah, God says, “You thought I was just like you.” (50:21)

For example, we think God's anger is like ours. But while ours is a mixture of impatience, retaliation, and self-defense, God’s is righteous: it is anger against sin. God hates sin; hates the pain it causes; hates how it separates us from Him.  But He loves mankind (Jn 3:16). For that reason, "God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Ro. 5:8).

The story of the prodigal son illustrates this beautifully. While the son sat in a pig pen of sinful choices, imagining his father's anger, he projected punishment where there was only love and forgiveness. He could not imagine his father was waiting and longing for his return.  After times of disobedience, the Jews would distance themselves from God.  The prophets tried to tell them God was not mad at them: “God longs to be gracious to you; and He is waiting on high to show you mercy; the Lord of Hosts says, ‘Return to Me; I love you with an everlasting love.’" (Is. 30:18; Zech. 1:3; Jer. 31::3)