4/28/11

It occurred to me that the thought pattern which elevates the love of God to the prime virtue is often argued as "I couldn't worship a God who wasn't [loving/compassionate/forgiving/let's-be-honest:-tolarant-of-me-just-the-way-I-am].  What it REALLY is, though, is an unwillingness to believe that our sin is really THAT BAD.  That it's so bad that it separates us from God, and that there are real actual consequences for our actions taken against God.  We hate that.  As kids, we don't want our actions to have consequences, and I don't think that inner desire for no personal accountablility ever goes away.  Even in my dreams when I have done something bad, I think "Oh man... how am I going to escape the consequences?"  An All-Love God of course laughs away our childish follies because on the scale of universal time they have no comparative significance.  Except Jesus teaches that God 1) knows us intimately and 2) exists apart from time.  Our sin is always before God.  He does not forget, and if he forgives a real crime he is not just and therefore not perfect and worthy of all worship and praise.  He would not be Himself.  The All-Love God is a human-created myth that allows people to not change, and not take personal responsability
I have sin?  And it's real, and it's so bad that if I don't accept the sacrifice of Christ in my place, I will be separated from God forever?  That doesn't sound like it would be pleasant to believe.

-J