Robert Schuller, a great voice of American Protestantism in the 20th century once wrote, "Have you ever been in a church where the minister scolds the people? He rebukes them, slaps his hands and pounds his fist, verbally crucifying those listening to him. I have attended churches like that. And the amazing thing is that the people go out and tell the preacher, "Oh, that was a great sermon, Reverend. These people enjoy being verbally spanked. They do not understand what the grace of God means."
I think Schuller got it right. Too many people think they need to be yelled at in order to bring them to repentance or keep themselves in line: but what lies behind such behavior is the false theology of people seeking to earn God's forgiveness by living lives, worthy of his love. The truth is, you will never be good enough to earn Gods's love: but the gospel says you don't have to be good enough. What matters is how much you open your heart to the Lord, and an obedient heart is never powered by all our human effort! Only God's love can make the difference for you.
Schuller writes, My message of grace to you is that God knows and he still loves you."
Today, why don't you stop trying to show God how good you can be for him, and instead let God show you how good God can be for you. It wasn't until John Wesley realized that God loved him, even him; that he found the power that transformed his very own life.
Dennis
No comments:
Post a Comment