This week has been and interesting week; I had a confluence of messages from Father. The first message I blogged about in a previous post. Then I started reading "Abba's Child" by Brendan Manning. In the book he talks about how, in our relationship with Father, there are 2 critical things that need to be settled in our hearts; His character, and our identity. Brendan says that the biggest problem in the American church is self-rejection because it contradicts the voice that calls us 'Beloved'.
The 3rd message I heard this week can be found here:
Hell: Isn't the God of Christianity an angry judge?
I found this message on the website for a book called 'The reason for God' by Tim Keller. It might sound strange to say that this message fit in so well with the other messages, but you need to hear it to understand. Tim describes hell as placing your identity in something other than God, and to me that fit very well with Brendan's message that our identity is 'Beloved of God' as well as God showing me personally that I was not abandoned like I once thought.
I will say that I think explaining the Cross as cure, like Wayne Jacobsen does, actually would fit better in this message than Tim's brief description of the Cross does. At any rate, take a listen and feel free to comment!
1 comment:
Rick,
Thanks for sending the link. I listened to it on the way in to work this morning. I was really getting into his take on hell. I think he well described the reality that sin is it's own worst punishment. And how God's love (in giving us real freedom) can be found in "hell". But then it crashed right back into this angry God that needed to punish someone and we should just be glad he chose Jesus instead of us. And that the only way we really can love Jesus right is if we accept how much much God was willing to whack him instead of me. I really agree with his description of hell, but am at a loss as to how he reconciles what he starts with and what he ends with.
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