I’ve noticed there’s quite a bit of this (panicky Christianity) about.
“What if this person goes to hell because I didn’t tell them about Jesus?”
“I’m not praying enough/reading the Bible enough/obeying God enough”
Etc.
However, there’s a belief that provides relief. Actually there are two, which curiously enough are opposites:
- “God is sovereign”
- “God doesn’t exist”
If God is sovereign he will get everyone to heaven and he will get everything done he wants done in spite of all the ways you fall short. So…no need to panic that you are going to mess up his divine plan. Relax and enjoy your life on earth.
If God doesn’t exist then you can forget about hell, praying, reading the Bible and obeying him and go do something fun instead.
i think panicky = some sort of standard we think we should hit which i always thought wasn’t the point of christianity – in other words as it is a grace thang, god’s best for us which inspires our best for God has always meant to me why panic…
if as St Paul argues everything is permissable but not everything is benficial we have spectacular freedom to balls up and God still loves us wildly so – that’s for me the foolishness of the cross, it’s weakness, failure, powerlessness and love…
which interestingly enough resounds with my life calling to model imperfection, altho i guess if i was being ultra panicky i’d add imperfectiobn being [slowly] perfected, lol.
I think cos God loves us he wants what benefits us and encourages us in so many different ways to try and find a life that is rich, generous, gracious and loving. A life that is naturally weak and powerless rather than supremely self confident, focussed et al…
Still if he doesn’t exist then you can just ignore all of the above 😉
Paul – you nailed it! You described why there isn’t a need to panic really well.
Also, thanks for modelling imperfection so the rest of us imperfect people would feel better about ourselves 😉
lol… (funny, your two relief options). 🙂
I agree with Paul (not surprisingly)… Panicky is not an indicator that one is walking it the Spirit (resting in the grace of Christ). Unfortunately, in our pursuit of right doctrine, I think we often lose sight of the aspect of grace. Maybe because it goes against the grain of human thought (this idea of not getting exactly what we deserve?)…
Molly – yes, I’ve noticed that rest and panic don’t go together!