Skylark:
It seems as though God never really thought of any of His children as "sinners', in His eyes we were probably always His beloveds. Even more fascinating is how Brian Zahnd writes about how God never once viewed us as needing forgiveness, or even willed for Jesus to die. We were the ones that killed him, yet God's love is fully depicted in that moment, since He essentially says "you can even kill me and I still love you, which proves that I have loved you all along". I once heard someone say that Jesus never came to reconcile us to an angry dictator, He only came to reveal a loving father. The post on your blog really underscored that for me.
It seems as though Grace just keeps
getting better and better, and I'm finally seeing how all-encompassing
it is. Really, no one is outside of the Grace of God, since everyone
ends up happy in heaven with Him. And His love is truly the most freeing
force on this universe. It is not coercive in the least, it is such a
gentle, kind-hearted love akin to that of a lover, best friend, and
parent. God never requires anything from us, freely offering us His life
and unconditional love. He never asks that we continuously beg for
forgiveness or even have any consciousness of our actions (good or bad),
for our true worth and His love for us far supersede any of our
actions.There is no "expectation" from us, He simply wants us to know
that we are already in union with Him and we can now enjoy life, in
spite of any hardships, since peace, love, joy and happiness already
exist within us. And He is always taking care of us and our needs :) It
is the best news!
Have you ever heard the song
"You Got it" by Ray Orbison? It's an older song, from 1989, and though
the lyrics have more romantic connotations, I couldn't help but think
how it's almost like a love song from Jesus to us. The refrain goes,
"Anything you want, you got it
Anything you need, you got it
Anything at all, you got it."
It
kind of made me think about how that's probably what God would say to
us, He has already given us everything and more, by gifting us with His
life within us, which is truly the greatest force ever. We are not
lacking anything, He is there for us within us, caressing us, providing
for us, and helping us in every way.
Sparrow:
The way you describe God and His love in that one paragraph, as
never coercive, never requiring anything of us, gentle and kind-hearted,
..and of what He wants for us, to just know we're already in union with
Him and can enjoy life because happiness is within us..wow! That blew
me away! That is the best explanation of the good news I've heard in a
long time and maybe ever! THAT is the real gospel!
You know, I was thinking about how since I found out all are going to be in heaven, how much calmer and at peace I am in all areas of my life..it is like I was finally able to relax and really trust God, finally able to be at peace because He really IS good! He really is! I think before I struggled a bit because I couldn't see how He could really let people end up in hell instead of heaven..it made me a bit afraid of Him, like there was a 'bad' side to God that I had to be careful not to unleash! Now that I know He is really going to get everyone into heaven with Him and wouldn't have it any other way, I feel He makes sense to me, life makes more sense, the gospel makes sense...knowing everything is going to be okay for everybody makes me feel that everything is so peaceful and right in such an ultimate way!
You know, I was thinking about how since I found out all are going to be in heaven, how much calmer and at peace I am in all areas of my life..it is like I was finally able to relax and really trust God, finally able to be at peace because He really IS good! He really is! I think before I struggled a bit because I couldn't see how He could really let people end up in hell instead of heaven..it made me a bit afraid of Him, like there was a 'bad' side to God that I had to be careful not to unleash! Now that I know He is really going to get everyone into heaven with Him and wouldn't have it any other way, I feel He makes sense to me, life makes more sense, the gospel makes sense...knowing everything is going to be okay for everybody makes me feel that everything is so peaceful and right in such an ultimate way!
Skylark:
I completely agree with your thoughts about knowing everyone ends
up in heaven. For me, it feels as though that was the missing piece of
the puzzle all along, that thinking He would be judging some means He
did believe in some sort of retributive justice, which proved that He
wasn't that good. I would have friends who never even knew Jesus that
would say "I believe everyone ends up in heaven because deep down
everyone is good". And looking back, if the truth about heaven for all
were untrue, then my friends would indeed be better than God. Thanks a
lot for sharing your thoughts on your blog about universal salvation, it
has always been something that has been on my mind but I felt scared
about acknowledging it. Guess it was on our minds for a reason! lol
Sparrow:
Just
today I was thinking about how incredible it is to find Jesus outside
of religion. Religion is such an oppressive force, and I wanted to know
Him outside of religion, know who Jesus truly was. I'm seeing how He is
the lightest force. Really, I now can see the possibility of all
entering heaven because I see how no one is outside of His grace. Even
though some may be unaware of His life within them, no one is outside of
the circle of Grace. It's as if Jesus says to all, don't worry about
church attendance, evangelism, or asking for forgiveness,the laws, or
doctrinal issues, all I want is for you to simply be happy, feel this
deep love within you, experience life within you and give you unending
joy in the midst of this sometimes confusing life. Nothing on this earth
can be as freeing nor more beautiful. Sometimes, when I feel depressed
or weighed down I just think about how terrible my life was prior to
knowing true Grace, and though I still may feel sad or anxious, some
sort of peace takes hold.
I love what you said about Peace taking hold in those depressed moments! I have experienced that too! To me that is just so God, so Grace-at-Work! Grace is the love and presence and peace and acceptance of God (really His whole Being, which IS all those things) TAKING HOLD of our hearts and minds and flooding us with all that He is, carrying us forth in life, in happiness, in well-being and true shalom calmness, sailing us over all things in utter freedom, saturating everything and everyone with a deep sense of okayness, and bringing everything out to the perfect Happy Ending enjoying that wonderful intimacy of our union with Him forever!
How wonderful to rest in the arms that will hold us all forever!
How beautiful to rest in such a God, a God who says to us, as He did to Julian of Norwich:
How wonderful to rest in the arms that will hold us all forever!
How beautiful to rest in such a God, a God who says to us, as He did to Julian of Norwich:
“See that I am God. See that I am in everything. See that I do
everything. See that I have never stopped ordering my works, nor ever
shall, eternally. See that I lead everything on to the conclusion I
ordained for it before time began, by the same power, wisdom and love
with which I made it. How can anything be amiss?”
Isn't Grace wonderful? Isn't HE wonderful? :)