
(Photo credit: stenila.wordpress.com)
While growing up, I lived in fear of making Heaven: “If the trumpet sounds now, will I make it?” I saw God like a neutral Being who didn’t care whether you come to Heaven or are banished to Hell for eternity. Christianity became a religion of fear and the question of “What of a man who has being doing good all his life and sins right before the trumpet blows?” kept ringing in my mind.
Now I know of Grace and Forgiveness and Righteousness. I know that God is not neutral; He actually destined me to make Heaven as recorded in 1Thes 5:9:
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,“
Hey, but does that mean that I will go about living my life in sin? A father that promises his son the management of his company when he’s old enough does not expect that the son will quit school (or learning) just because he has a promise. In the same way, certain things are required of me as noted in 1Thes 5:4-8:
“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.“
2Peter 3 also tells us more about this. So no, I don’t see God as a wicked headmaster just waiting for me to make a mistake; I see Him as a loving Father Who has blessed me with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
Quit living in fear today. Embrace the Grace of God.
Thank you for posting this! I’ve been thinking about this for a while and this is just timely, glad I read this.
I smiled when I saw it wasn’t a techy post :p
God bless you.
Haha! *covers face* Sorry for the long string of techy posts. I’m glad you were blessed.