The Story Begins with Life.
God loved humanity so much that God became human in order to lead humanity to its divinity. God enters our world so that we can enter God’s world.
God accepts humanity.
I did not say that God approves of everything that humans do.
There’s a huge difference between acceptance and approval. I think far too many folks are caught-up in a belief system that they must some how win God’s acceptance through their efforts or through what they say they believe.
If our destiny is based purely on our ability to come to an intellectual acceptance of a particular understanding of Jesus then we are all doomed. Jesus’ ego is not so big that he rejects you based on what you believe about him. (you have never been rejected by God, regardless of your belief)Consider Thomas, he was a close personal friend and yet he had doubts about what folks claimed about Jesus. For me, the beauty of the story is, rather than acting offended, Jesus goes to his friend and helps him have the necessary experience in order to come to his conclusion. God will do the same for you.
I cannot make God accept me.
God accepts me, for that is the nature of God. I do not pull the lever of grace based on what I believe. God pulls the lever of grace for that is the nature of God. If God pulls the lever and pours out God’s grace on me that means that God pulls the lever and pours out grace on you as well.
Belief changes the way I live and see the world. Belief doesn't change the way God sees me. Belief in God helps me to see myself nd others the way God sees me and others.
Humanity is not some low-life piece of trash that is destined to burn in the incinerator. According to scripture, humanity has great value and worth in the eyes of God and was created for the garden—that’s your destiny.
What about sin?
Jung said, “Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.” Sin is a form of condemnation. Whatever condemns another human being is sin: addiction, war, murder, greed, fear, forms of capitalism, forms of socialism, hate, and the condemnation of another person, etc. When we destroy the dignity of ourselves and another human being-- that is condemnation—that is sin against God.
The story claims that humanity is created in the image of the Creator. When we destroy and condemn the creation, we attempt to destroy and condemn the fabric of the Creator-- life. When I read the stories of Jesus it seems that the majority of his work was going throughout the region he lived helping to restore human dignity by restoring those parts of themselves that had been condemned through the efforts of themselves or others.
The story doesn’t begin or end at the cross. If we stay stuck at the cross; if we stay stuck at our sin we miss life with God. The Story begins with life; the Life of the Creator; life created by the Creator; life as the Creator enters creation; life that overcomes the condemnation of and by creation; life that restores creation to the Creator.
You have life with God.
Alive with Christ.
Choose life.
Live.
3 Comments:
Do you sometimes get the feeling that no one really believes that Christ overcame sin, and then freely gave that "overcoming" to us?
I closed my blog, and feel the need to get away from religious people for a while. We would rather believe in our church, our 12 step plans, our rites and rituals, our rules, our doctrines, our "everything but Christ only" methodologies... rather than simply letting ourselves accept the simplicity of God communicating His love for us through His Son in a way that should leave us with no doubt as to our standing with Him.
But, we still doubt. And we try to resolve that doubt with all sorts of means, methods, and mechanisms. We will never experience the freedom that He intends for us, and we will never settle into His peace as long as we think we have some part to play in our redemption to our Creator.
And, what's funny is how, the more peace someone preaches, the more people want to rid the world of that person. People can't stand peace, because they have no idea of what it is. They are afraid of it because those who have it tell that it doesn't come as a result of our own efforts. It comes from letting go of ourselves, and we just can't have that. Not even the church people who build empires "for God" (yeah, uh-huh) who profess "belief". I can't figure out exactly what it is they believe in, but it certainly doesn't bring them peace.
Thanks Bruce,
I think you make many valid points.
It sounds simple but for some reason it's not. I wonder if the spiritual life that Jesus spoke about is related mainly to peace.
Sometimes I wonder if we seek inner peace more than we do God. As I read Mark this week I found Jesus claiming to be deeply distressed near the point of death as he faced the cross. I look at folks livng in tents in MS & LS or those in Africa dying of AIDS and starvation today and I wonder if they are a little distressed about their destiny.
Anyhow, thanks for your thoughts. We'll miss your presence. I hope that you'll come around for visits. :)
God's peace,
Rick
Yes, life on earth can be terribly difficult. But, peace does not come as a result of life somehow getting easy, and good. It comes from knowing how God feels about His creation.
Peace may not make things better, but it will surely make our perception of things better... even terrible things.
I tend to believe that God wants His kids to know that no matter how bad things may become in this phase of life, everything will be alright. In the end, we all win. Some will find this time on earth to be a miserable experience. Some will experience both ups and downs. And others will live in unabashed luxury. But none will have peace without understanding the Cross, and what God tells us about Himself through it.
No one can pretend to understand why it's God's plan to have us spend a small time in this horribly imperfect world, but I'm certain He has a reason. For some strange reason, He created this imperfect world for us to experience life, both good and bad. But, through it all, He has made it clear that He waits for us on the other side, where there is no pain or suffering. Could it be that He knows we won't appreciate all of His goodness until we have had an opportunity to exist without for a time? Someday, we will all know the answers.
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