It’s been a busy week and now I’m finally able to take a breather and type out a few words. Apologies to all those I haven’t been able to contact yet.
There’s been something God keeps laying on my mind, but I’ve been stubbornly refusing to believe. It seems no matter the evidence, some people prefer to be bound to, and spread, fear-based religion instead of the love Jesus exemplified. Many don’t even realize they’re doing it. I keep seeing the same things Jesus disliked about the religion of his time repeated in Christians today. Yet, despite how much I try to prove God is love, many still hold adamantly to their fear-based views.
The hardest lesson is knowing that I can’t convince most people no matter what I prove through the Bible or otherwise. Many seem dead-set on following a set of rules they’ve extrapolated from scripture—scripture that was meant to help us fall deeper in love with Father. I don’t have much of a problem if people want to live out their self-imposed rules while shunning everyone else. It’s those rules being forced on, and threatened over, others that irks me. I don’t think I’m alone in this—it seems to have irked Jesus also.
I don’t want to delve too deep into this as I’ve already written much along these lines in other posts. Three times recently I’ve shown other Christians evidence in the Bible that they could be viewing our loving Father inappropriately. All three times the evidence has been ignored and the conversation redirected. For some reason, it seems people just don’t want to believe Father is love. Many would rather live in fear and spread that fear to others. But how can we love that which we fear? For me, the more I fall in love with God, the less I’m able to fear him. When I was stuck in fear, I couldn’t love no matter how strictly I followed a set of rules.
I write this because I’m depressed in my spirit with how adamantly people insist on living by fear and spreading that to others. Whether it is fear of hell or fear of Jesus showing up like a divine police officer, it’s still a fear-based relationship. I’ve been prompted more and more to just go to those God leads me to and quit worrying so much about those who insist on being bound by fear. If they want to live that type of existence, love won’t force them to change.
Perhaps seeds were planted. Perhaps one day a few more will wake up to Father’s love. Perhaps I need to learn to stop playing the game and just walk with Jesus. Maybe more will see him through me then instead of any logical discourse I could give.
John, it can be depressing if you attempt to force change on your own. You have to go back to Jesus’ parable of the sower in Mark 4:1-20. Yes, seeds were planted. Jesus reminds us there are many different types of soil. We can’t predict how the seeds will grow, and we certainly can’t change the soil; that is beyond our control. Let me write that again. We can’t change the soil; it is beyond our control. Who has control of the soil? Only God. Only He can transform the soil.
Sometimes we simply have to get out of the way and let God do His job in His timing.
It’s something we all do, John. I’m certain people in my own life got very frustrated and sad over my own snail’s pace journey. But God’s timing was perfect for me. Keep praying for them. ❤
“Three times recently I’ve shown other Christians evidence in the Bible that they could be viewing our loving Father inappropriately. All three times the evidence has been ignored and the conversation redirected.
Here is why you should love your partner. Here is how you love your partner. The way you love your partner is less than it could be.
“My partner and I love each other. We have been together twenty-five years. We have a home and car and we take two holidays every year. Who are you to tell me how to love.?”
But your love is habit and duty.
“How dare you tell me how I should love my partner.”
So why do you tell others your love is the only way to love?
“Twenty-five years, a home, a car and two holidays a year. That’s why.”
Here’s a God-seed out of the blue! Years ago I attended a small group training with work. It was a three day training. Soft skills, empowerment, management styles, that kind of thing. The trainer was offbeat, corporate but not. Some of the stuff was cool, some less so. Some stuck and some bounced.
One lunch break I noticed the trainer meandering outside. Oblivious to anyone seemingly. Deep inside himself. Why that memory? He was barefoot.
Corporate training did not include “barefoot”. We all laughed. Me as well.
Except inside …
That made him real for me. He was not preaching in his training. He was sharing what he lived. He was not corporate. He was as real as me.
I listened much more closely for the rest of the training.
(that was thirty years ago – no idea why it came to mind now)
I was thinking about this and you post came back to my mind. I was thinking about how a religious spirit on a someone makes a person spiritually deaf and blind, so it’s like talking to a wall. I believe it takes a major move of God to wake someone up from this dull state. I am speaking from experience. 😊
Christian INTP 
John, it can be depressing if you attempt to force change on your own. You have to go back to Jesus’ parable of the sower in Mark 4:1-20. Yes, seeds were planted. Jesus reminds us there are many different types of soil. We can’t predict how the seeds will grow, and we certainly can’t change the soil; that is beyond our control. Let me write that again. We can’t change the soil; it is beyond our control. Who has control of the soil? Only God. Only He can transform the soil.
Sometimes we simply have to get out of the way and let God do His job in His timing.
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Yep, sometimes I get over zealous to provide people with what I’ve come to know too fast for their own journey.
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It’s something we all do, John. I’m certain people in my own life got very frustrated and sad over my own snail’s pace journey. But God’s timing was perfect for me. Keep praying for them. ❤
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“Three times recently I’ve shown other Christians evidence in the Bible that they could be viewing our loving Father inappropriately. All three times the evidence has been ignored and the conversation redirected.
Here is why you should love your partner. Here is how you love your partner. The way you love your partner is less than it could be.
“My partner and I love each other. We have been together twenty-five years. We have a home and car and we take two holidays every year. Who are you to tell me how to love.?”
But your love is habit and duty.
“How dare you tell me how I should love my partner.”
So why do you tell others your love is the only way to love?
“Twenty-five years, a home, a car and two holidays a year. That’s why.”
Maybe?
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That sums it up fairly well Paul 🙂
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Here’s a God-seed out of the blue! Years ago I attended a small group training with work. It was a three day training. Soft skills, empowerment, management styles, that kind of thing. The trainer was offbeat, corporate but not. Some of the stuff was cool, some less so. Some stuck and some bounced.
One lunch break I noticed the trainer meandering outside. Oblivious to anyone seemingly. Deep inside himself. Why that memory? He was barefoot.
Corporate training did not include “barefoot”. We all laughed. Me as well.
Except inside …
That made him real for me. He was not preaching in his training. He was sharing what he lived. He was not corporate. He was as real as me.
I listened much more closely for the rest of the training.
(that was thirty years ago – no idea why it came to mind now)
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I was thinking about this and you post came back to my mind. I was thinking about how a religious spirit on a someone makes a person spiritually deaf and blind, so it’s like talking to a wall. I believe it takes a major move of God to wake someone up from this dull state. I am speaking from experience. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person