What if the Good News (the gospel) is not: "Repent, become a Christian, then your sins will be forgiven and you'll get a ticket to (assurance of) heaven."?
But: "Don't be afraid. Your sins are forgiven. Your Father loves you. You don't have to try to manage your shame anymore, it's been dealt with. Come now from death into life."?
What if differentiating between 'christian' and 'non-christian' is just putting people into a box again, playing a stupid 'us vs. them' game, that is keeping people from experiencing the Father's love? What if that's not God's heart at all?
What if He really is the Father of all who with outstretched arms is running towards all of us?
What if His outstretched arms even reach into the place of the dead (Hades/Sheol), to which, by the way, Jesus is supposed to hold the keys?
I love this. I have been back to read it twice today, it is beautiful & makes perfect sense to me.
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