One of my favorite scriptures is "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is the good, perfect and acceptable will of God." (Romans 12:2) I believe that the true reality of how God created mankind to live can only be revealed in our lives when we think like God thinks. Part of thinking like God does involves what not to do, for example, no lying, stealing, cheating, fornication, jealousy, etc. However our lives as Christians never reach the fullness of abundant life when our only focus is what we can't do. Remember we were called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Therefore a crucial piece to our new life is how to live in the kingdom.
The kingdom contains many components, but if we had to sum the kingdom up in one word, that word is LOVE. How can I be sure? Because God is love (1 John 4:6). God doesn't have love...He is love. This means that every Word that God has every spoken to you or about you is rooted in his great love for you. Unfortunately most of us have heard far too much about the wrath of God. I'm not saying that God doesn't have wrath, I'm saying that his wrath is against sin....not sinners. I'm saying that His wrath was satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross for the sins of the world. In other words...God Ain't Mad No More!
I've spent the majority of the year reading the gospels and I've noticed that Jesus never tells anyone to come to God or risk hell. He always responds in compassion even to people who the religious elite (Pharisees and Sadduccees) consider undeserving of compassion. Why? Because Jesus was the expression of God in the earth. He was and continues to be LOVE! Jesus showed so much love by healing, restoring and feeding people that they were drawn into a love relationship with God. The crowds didn't follow Jesus because he threatened punishment, judgment or damnation. They followed because He expressed so much care and concern for each of them that they couldn't stay away! They became curious about a God that didn't respond with wrath, pain and affliction.
When Jesus told the disciples to preach the kingdom...He wasn't telling them to preach hell. He was telling to tell everyone that the breach sin had created had been restored through the Cross. He was saying that every man, woman, boy and girl had a right to have a relationship with God the Creator without fear. After all, how else can you come boldly to the throne to obtain grace unless you know you will encounter God's love and mercy?
Love is the most powerful force ever. It raised Jesus from the dead. The revelation of God's great love for you in spite of your mistakes/sins/transgressions has the power to set you free from every mistake/sin/transgression. You can't live right because you are afraid God will get you. You can't get others to live right because they are afraid of hell. Right living comes from right thinking. Right thinking is knowing that God loves you unconditionally. The more you realize his love, the less desire you have to do anything that's not pleasing to him. Not because you fear hell, but because you never want to be separated from Him.
How do I know this is true? Look at any natural relationship and if there is fear, there will never be transparency. If you were afraid of your parents, you didn't run to them when you were in trouble, you hid it! You tried to find your own way out (which usually didn't work). On the other hand if your parents had created an atmopshere free from fear, you told them every thing and probably avoided a lot of additional trouble.
A religion based on fear forces people to hid their issues and pretend to be something they aren't because they are afraid of God's rejection or punishment. A relationship based on unconditional love allows people to run to God with their issues because they know they will never be rejected and that it's his love that can set them free.
Psalm 103 tells us that God has not dealt with us according to our sin or rewarding us according our inquity. In other words, He's not holding sin against you. He wants you to know his love because it's his love that sets you free from the bondage of sin and allows you to live abundantly.
I encourage you to leave behind the fear of God's rejection and wrath and embark on the freeing journey of knowing His love for you. It will affect every area of your life. It will change how you view Him, yourself and others! As it changes you...it will change the world. Aren't you called to be a world changer? Spread the Love!
