Not for the Faint of heart

I rewatched the video "bullhorn" by Rob Bell the other day, and I began to think about the things that those people who preach the "hell-fire and brimstone" way of Christianity, have against the way the rest of us try to portray Christ. you know? as a God full of love and compassion, who takes us as we are, broken and defeated, and picks us up. the One who died just so He could be intimate with His creation again! they say things like "well, if it were really that way, then you could just do whatever you want and still go to heaven!"....one prob I see with that arguement is..........well.........they're right! there is absolutely nothing we can do to lose the gift God has given us short of seeing exactly what it is and saying "thanks, but no thanks, I'd rather go to hell". Like any one of us could lose our parent's love by disobeying them.

but, there is another side to the whole "mushy, no balls required, doctrine of love", that I think everyone who is cynical towards it is missing.........John 14:15 for starters. this is without a doubt the most haunting verse in the Bible for me. It comes to mind everytime I screw up, and it hurts! In this Chapter, Jesus is giving just the message that religeous people call "warm and fuzzy" today. He is talking about never abandoning His children, being there always....but.....right in the middle of it in v15 He makes this statement that drives the whole thing for me about our side of the relationship. He says out of seemingly nowhere "and if you love ME you will keep my commandments"..............(ouch!)...........then He goes right back to saying stuff like "and I will never leave you...etc" think about it for a sec. who on earth in there right mind would consceously hurt someone who loved them the way Jesus loved us. yet when we sin that is exactly what we do! or think about it this way. Let's say you meet this girl. and you find her amazing in every way! your completely in love. and you know that she loves you and there is nothing you could possibly do to make her stop loving you. (any girl reading this just flip it around). in this sitch, what guy would even give a thought to cheating on her, for even the remote fear of hurting her in any way. even though you know she would(in tears, and probably after a few days balling her eyes out!) forgive you..... of course not!!! God showed that He loves us so much more than any person ever could! so why is that we break God's heart with our sin!? like I said earlier who would do such a thing?!

if you ask me, not only does the doctrine of love just as difficult to live up to. it's harder! yeah, the bullhorn guy on the street corner i yelling "sin, and go to hell!" but what about breaking the heart of the Only one who ever loved you completely, selflessly, and enough to die to bring you two together.

so, ironically, the idea that God is full of Grace, full of Mercy, and full of Heart isn't for the the faint of heart.

(checkthisout- read John chapter 14, noticing v15, then read chap 15, notice v14, it's saying the came thing, it's pretty awesome!)