~William Paul Young - The Shack~
I used to think that being a christian was akin to being a robot that followed orders and obeyed at all costs. Along we would marching orders of the pulpit pounders to the strains of onward christian soldiers. There was no feeling and thus no emotion involved in this movement of Gods followers. Not surprisingly, the world around us classified christians as dry, humorless sticks in the mud. I can say that I didn't disagree with that assesment all too much. I can recall walking into church on Sunday morning to many a false smile from someone who was truly hurting inside yet afraid to let anyone know. For relationship, true relationship, was not something to be found within the church structure. There were rules and traditions to be followed, which is the deathblow to relationships. Now, I'm not saying that there were not those who indeed found relationships through the church, many of my friends are those I've carried over from my days in the church. However, these are definately the exception rather than the rule. Not surprisingly, many a christian has faced the task of learning to love once again. Loving without that fear of condemnation or rejection. I would be happy to see truth in advertising. For if this were the case, we would see local churches advertising in the local news rag with ads like, "Come join us Sunday to hear a speech on how bad you are but just how good you can be if you try hard enough!" It's no wonder that the church is a relationship killer. And one of the biggest relationships which the church kills within us is that relationship with the very one who created us FOR relationships.
7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
1 John 4: 7 - 12 NKJV
I lost count of just how many Sunday pulpit pounder sermons raised the subject that we can have a relationship with God, if we try hard enough and if we're devoted to Him. There is absolutely nothing there that encourages a relationship, a loving relationship with God. No, for in order to even attempt a relationship with God we must be clean and pure of all imperfections. See, we're told that God cannot stand to be in the presence of sin. Since we're told that we are simply sinners saved by grace, what chance to we have for a meaningful relationship with God unless we rectify our sin condition? This is what we are fed each and every week. It's no wonder that I already felt as if the deck was stacked against me when I was in church. It's here where I began to think of the false idea that I was actually seperated from God. I was a sinner, and God could not tolerate that. Sound like relationship to you? Me either. The point at which my eyes were opened to what God truly wanted me to realize about His love for me did not come about until my friendship with Dennis started to grow. In the process, many of the misconceptions I had carried for so many years about how God felt for me were put to rest. In their place was a new realization of just how much my heavenly Father truly cares for me. He loved me enough to send His Son to die in my place despite my sin condition {2 Corinthians 5:21}. There was no seperation between me and God. The whole time that I clung to this false belief He was drawing me closer to Him. Not only that, in the freedom which we have in His love for us can be found the freedom to learn to love others as well.
~Scott~
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