No Greater Love
Rohr explained what I experienced through this journey, “The people who know God well—the mystics, the hermits, those who risk everything to find God—always meet a lover, not a dictator. God is never found to be an abusive father or a tyrannical mother, but always a lover who is more than we dared hope for…God is a lover who receives and forgives everything.” [1]I searched for answers regarding hell, ones that I had hoped were different than my fleeting relationship with traditional evangelical views and found God woven throughout history as one who is through and through a loving community of love. A God who continuously invites humanity to join and when we do not, provides the fire to necessary to remind of us that we belong to a family and are pure gold in God’s eyes. McVey explained it well, “To properly understand God’s nature, it is important to realize that he doesn’t wait for us to make a move to resolve our problem of sin. As Pure Love, he acts independently of what we do or don’t do. When humanity wasn’t seeking him, he came looking for us! (Romans 3:11).”[2]Although the details and technicalities of our final destiny are still largely a mystery to me, I feel I have discovered more of who I believe God to be on earth and in heaven—a fierce lover not willing that any of God’s own children should be left out of the family. In Adam, we were lost for awhile, but in Christ we now have a way to belong together forever, and for this I am truly thankful and humbled.
But what about Now?
If all will one day be saved through Jesus, why bother with evangelism or even calling oneself a Christian? Although I believe Jesus is savior of all, I believe on earth we have to help others come into a place of surrender to make Jesus Lord of their lives as well. I believe that as Christians we are called to bring heaven to earth and if we can bring what will be our eternal fate of restoration to those suffering on earth, why would we hesitate a moment more? My prayer is that the future of the church would be motivated by love for the family to be reconnected. How much more if we invite people back to the family table with love and invitation, instead of fear and judgement will they come running and eager to spread this love? As a beloved of God, I want to train others up to be ready to proclaim the love and invitation of God who accepts us as we are, a mess and then pours over us with fire to purify us and oil to heal us!
I think that an essential part of the church’s revival in the coming seasons will be from a shift in our language and approach in sharing about the nature of God towards humanity and our eternal fate. I sense this is a path less traveled and less desired because it requires more than giving someone a religious pamphlet with steps to God--it requires that we reconnect with ourselves and one another for the sake of others experiencing a connection to God through our relational love. It requires that we give of ourselves; beyond Sunday services and religious acts and calls us deeper into vulnerability and doing life with one another. If I am honest, this challenge freaks me out as I am someone who usually hides from vulnerability and connection, but the more I am loved by God, the more I realize this is the path of life in abundance. I believe this requires that the great commandment always precede and is the foundation for the great commission. My hope is that I can be a part shifting the culture of the church so that more than ever on earth there will be a harvest of those who cry out a loud Yes to God, because they have encountered the Love that created them at first!
I believe as followers of Christ, we are all invited into God’s great work of restoration. As Jesus was leaving this earth he entrusted us with his own spirit, so that as a people filled with God’s Spirit, we are empowered, invited and challenged to do the very work that Jesus did on earth. For me, this has taken many forms throughout my life of following Jesus. I feel so privileged and humbled by the many opportunities in my own community and in communities throughout the world that I have been able to witness God’s miraculous love invade hearts. Currently, I get to minister to those in recovery from drugs, alcohol and trauma where I lead spirituality therapy groups to help connect them to a God of love. Every week, without using fear or ultimatums, many are surrendering their lives to the God of love, practicing repentance and experiencing resurrection life! It is the most beautiful gift to witness!
Our Unified Calling
I believe we are called to, in our own unique callings and gifting, within our own denominational uniqueness, live out this new commandment which Jesus gave to the disciples to love one another, as we are love ourselves. I believe we are welcomed into love by God in every moment of our lives and from that flow of being loved we are called to love God with our lives. I believe we are called to cultivate love revolutions because wherever we go; whether in our churches, our grocery stores, our homes or our streets, we can with open arms and hearts welcome lost sons and daughters home. We are conduits of God’s very presence, so others may experience God through us and experience restoration for their bodies, minds, hearts and spirits. I believe we are, as believers in Christ, a people called to be living, breathing places of restoration and love for all whom we encounter. As all were lost in Adam, I believe all will be restored in Christ and I expectantly await the day when all injustice, hate and evil will be swallowed up in God’s consuming fiery love, once for all and all things will be made new. And although hell remains a mystery to me, this, I believe is the very good news to be shared and lived in every corner of the earth!
This series begain with part 1: "Good People Go To Heaven"
Footnotes
[1]Rohr, Everything Belongs, 131
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