God says He is not willing that any should perish. (See Matthew 18:14.)
Meanwhile we argue over who makes it or not.
You tell me who's thinking with their heart?
Let me say right from the start that this isn't about inclusion. I don't know whether to thank my generation, my parents, my pastors or my God-given brain, but I live in a world of absolutes. There is truth. There is black and white. Words have definitions, no matter how uneasy I may be with any of them.
Politicians, musicians, actors and reality shows can say whatever they want to fit their own personal agendas, but I was raised in the belief that God is God and it's okay that I don't always understand Him. In fact, why would I want to change my life around someone who I perfectly understand. (My wife would be another great example. I mean that in a good way.)
I make it my goal to know God as much as I can. I want to achieve a closer relationship with Him than I have today. That means jumping headlong into the Bible, where I read that "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16) and that "all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life" (John 6:40).
I'm as prone as the next guy to wonder about certain people who say one thing but act another. I have questions about how it works...exactly.
But I'm not sure that's my problem to solve, as if Someone better hasn't already taken care of these details. So I return to my introduction.
God says He is not willing that any should perish. (See Matthew 18:14.)
Meanwhile we argue over who makes it or not.
You tell me who's thinking with their heart?
Maybe I'd feel better about how I spent my time if I just accepted that God wants everyone. Maybe I'd have a much cleaner conscience if I simply loved everybody the way Jesus asked me to.
I understand that even Jesus warned us that not everybody who spoke the same language actually meant the same thing. I get that sheep will be separated from goats. (See Matthew 25.) It's pretty scary stuff when we stop to think about it. But I don't recall where Jesus asked me to sit in the judgment seat.
So, where's your heart at?
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