Jesus absorbed the wrath of God on the cross. That is true, but let us understand that wrath means consequences, not anger. Let us not caricature God by portraying God is an angry despot who needs to have his anger satisfied in order to be able to love us.

Not so! Rather, God made it possible for God the Son to absorb the consequences for our sin – the wrath of God – precisely because God loved us, his beloved creation, so very much.

The members of the Godhead turned the punishment for sin inward, allowing the Son to willingly suffer on our behalf so that we would not face the necessary come of our rebellion against God.

This was the one and only way for the one and only Son to satisfy the righteousness of God and at the same time make a way for us to live.

We live – we do not merely survive – because we have not merely evaded punishment, we have not only received a timely and necessary pardon, we have received the transforming gift of reconciliation with God, with one another, and with creation through the Son’s liberating gift of atonement.

This gift not only wiped the slate clean, it has shown us a new way forward, following in the steps of Jesus the Christ. And we have not only guidance, but also divine enablement for the journey. How then can we not follow, and boldly? Let us press on to life, from death.