February 7, 2009

I LOVE the wisdom...

of iMonk. I especially enjoyed the wisdom and wit of this post that compares two "religions".

Here are a couple snippets:

"Religion #1:

God is mean, angry and easily provoked. From day 1, we’ve all been a disappointment, and God is–justly–planning to punish us forever. At the last minute, thanks to Jesus stepping in to calm him down, he decides to be gracious.

But don’t do anything to mess that up. Peace is fragile around here.

Religion #2

God is gracious, loving, kind, generous and open-hearted. He rejoices in us as his creations, and is grieved that our sins have made us his enemies and caused so much brokenness and pain. In Jesus, he shows us what kind of God he is and restores the joy that should belong to the children of such a Father. True to his promises, he will bless all people in Jesus, and restore the world by his resurrection victory.

You can’t do anything to mess this up. God’s got his heart set on a universe wide celebration. ..."

"We have far too many people selling religion #1. Like the Pharisees, they are the authorized representatives of the grumpy, ticked off, hacked off, very, very angry God who MIGHT….maybe, MIGHT let you off the hook….MAYBE…..IF–and it’s a very big IF–you manage to believe enough, obey enough, get the theology questions right enough, find your way to the right church, follow the right script and get the details right, down to the last “amen.” ...

We have far too few Christians who are overwhelmed at the news that God has fired the bookkeepers, sent home the bean counters, dismissed the religion cops and bought party hats for the grumpy old people. The big announcement is this: In Jesus, we discover that God is just sloppy with his amazing grace and completely beyond common sense when it comes to his love. Just to enhance his reputation as the God who knows how to throw a party, he’s inviting all of us back home, no tickets necessary, no dress code, for a party that will last, literally, forever. " ... [bold emphasis is mine]

"God’s gracious face makes our religion fall apart. It takes away all our soapboxes. It shuts our mouths, because none of us deserve it and all of us can have it. God’s love and grace are so far beyond our ideas of what they ought to be that none of our ideas about God can survive the good news that comes in Jesus. Jesus is a salvation, grace, goodness, God revolution. ..."

Feel free to drop by the original post to read the rest of the article and the punch line. It's good.

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5 comments:

Heidi said...

How is it that some people can find the words to express God's grace? I'd say that is spot on. Thank you for sharing that soul-delighting thought today.

Piggy said...

My faith, which is based on religion#2, has allowed me to release my fears and be able to appreciate the true meaning of love by accepting the risk of being hurt, but knowing that my husband and child(ren) care too much to do so. I also realized that even if that were to happen, God's love is guaranteed, so I will never be alone.

Tracy P. said...

Amen, Susan! Saved by grace here--time and time again.

kt said...

so great Susan.
Thanks for sharing this.

God's grace - blows me away every time. we are totally undeserving but totally forgiven - wow!

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, yes! I'm right there with you.