Pushing Back the Horizon

There are two things that the western church of today needs to be aware of.
-One: I don’t think that the God of the universe ever needed a display of blood worthy of a Quinton Tarantino film to cure Him of a bad mood so that He could forgive.
-Two: Tommy Lee Jones really reminds me of God. More on that second one later.

What is up with the constant theme of blood sacrifice that we see throughout scripture? Right from Genesis 4 we see Abel offering a sacrifice from his flock. His brother Cain also offers a sacrifice to God, but from his crop. It appears that God prefers steak over vegetables. I can relate to that. By the time we get to Genesis 22 we find the story of God telling Abraham to offer up his only son Issac as a human sacrifice, which he seemingly agrees to without hesitation. This tells us, and we can also see from non-biblical historical records, that human sacrifice was already a common and accepted practice in many civilizations. Moving on to Exodus, God gives instructions to Moses that “You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.”( Exodus 20:24 NASB.) Well now it seems at least that we’ve moved on to animal sacrifices and left human sacrifice behind, but then….In the book of Judges we have the story of Jephthah. He had the misfortune of being born to the wrong woman, as such, was kicked out of the house, then we have a very heart warming underdog turned hero story come about where the entire nation of Israel is counting on Jephthah to save the day as their fearless military leader. Negotiations between Israel and their enemy—the Ammonites have failed and the battle is inevitable. Jephthah really needs this victory and makes a rash promise to God that “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lords, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:30b-31) NASB. Jephthah wins the battle and comes home in victory only to have his only daughter whom he loves dearly come out of the door to meet him. He follows through with is vow and sacrifices her to God. There is nothing here that immediately condemns his sacrifice. So we’re back to human sacrifice again.

No matter how far we peer into history, there is evidence of human and animal sacrifice in cultures around the world. Different people groups practicing this include; ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Neolithic Europe, the Celts, the Germanic people, the Slavic people, the Chinese, India, Hawaii, the pre-Columbian Americas, All across Africa. In 2 Chronicles 28, we see the reintroduction of human sacrifice in the cultic practice of Israel under the reign of king Ahaz. The question is: Why is it that every ancient culture has at one point in time had the compelling, perceived need to offer blood sacrifices to a deity? There have been three main motivators throughout history for sacrifice: The first and main one being that the people had felt that they had angered their god and thought they needed to give up something to appease their deity. The second reason was that the people wanted or needed an advantage over another people group and would make a deal with their deity…a trade. A sacrifice for a decisive victory. The third reason is for divine provision for favourable growing conditions for crops. Another trade off. A sacrifice in return for good crops. Other reasons tied into this, like the Mayans for example, sacrificing copious quantities of innocent lives so that the sun would continue to rise day after day. The common denominator here is one thing…Fear. Fear of God punishing, abandoning, and excluding them. Fear is the one thing that keeps the machine of religion ticking. It is the only thing. It doesn’t seem strange then, that various people throughout scripture are told by God or by angels to “fear not” over 100 times!

Then we see an interesting progression take place throughout the centuries recorded in scripture.
-Psalm 40:6 NASBS
[6] Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
-Hosea 6:6 NASBS
[6] For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Jeremiah 6:20 NASBS
[20] “For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba And the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
-Jeremiah 7:21-24 NASBS
[21] Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. [22] For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. [23] But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ [24] Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.
Micah 6:6-8 NASBS
[6] With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? [7] Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? [8] He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
-Matthew 9:13 NASBS
[13] But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
-Matthew 12:7 NASBS
[7] But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
-Hebrews 10:5-6 NASBS
[5] Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT a BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; [6] In WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
-Hebrews 10:8 NASBS
[8] After saying above, “Sacrifices AND OFFERINGS AND whole BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices for SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law)

What’s going on here? Has God, the immutable One changed His mind about sacrifice?
Does the change in the tone of scripture from God seemingly wanting sacrifice to not desiring sacrifice mean that scripture is fallible and errant after all? I think that people who dogmatically insist on the inerrancy and infallibility of scripture are missing the point. As Rob Bell says in his book, “What is the Bible?”, it is a story about what it means to be human. It is an accurate collection of stories which show how people have understood God as He has progressively revealed Himself to us, culminating in His full disclosure of character when the cosmic Christ became enfleshed and lived among us. What’s going on here is that God has met man where he was: Lost, in pain, uncomfortable, believing in a false identity, forgetting who God really is and imagining what He is like based on fear. Eyes blinded by guilt, knowing that in Adam, in the choosing to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we have chosen to define what is right and wrong independent of God. Even worse, we have chosen to have knowledge that we should never have had. We were created to be in perfect relationship with God, completely dependant on Him. As such, there is no need to know about right or wrong. Such knowledge is unnecessary within perfect relationship.

Who was it then that desired sacrifice? Man or God? It was man who desired sacrifice so that we could control our way into right standing with God and therefore a greater future. We mistakenly thought through our guilty conscience that God desired it and could be manipulated through transaction.

Matthew Distefano writes the following in his excellent book, “From the Blood of Abel”: “Consider the backdrop for a moment. Here we have a man who does not bear a son with his wife, Sarah, until he is 100 years of age (Gen 21:5). Not exactly the most ideal period in life to procreate! Miraculously though, it happens. A baby boy! But then, one day God decides to “test” Abraham, commanding, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the…” (Gen 22:2) Wait! What? No, no, no…that cannot be right. It sounds too ridiculous! Well, not so fast . If we transport ourselves back in time, perhaps 3,000 years or more, then we will discover a vastly different culture, with very specific theological assumptions (starting to sound familiar yet?). The important thing to understand is that once upon a time, people in the Middle East were polytheists. More specifically, and this applies to the early Hebrews, they were henotheists. Simply put: gods were tribal. I had my god, you had your god, and they had their god. So, for instance, Yahweh was the God of Israel, while Molech was the god of the Canaanites, and so on and so forth. With that in mind, let’s get back to the story… What Abraham and Sarah faced religiously and culturally sounds brutal for any parent. Certainly, they both “knew” that in order for God to be appeased, blood had to be shed—and what better blood than that of a first-born son? This was just the way it was. I believe that is why there is no mention of Abraham contesting God’s “commands.” Notice, in Genesis 22:3, immediately after getting the instructions from God, we are simply told that Abraham “rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac.” No protesting, no pleading for the boy’s life; just that he saddled up for the journey. Now, after the two reach the place where Isaac is to be slain, Abraham immediately builds an altar (Gen 22:9). I can imagine a rudimentary pile of rocks with hefty pieces of wood strategically placed on top. I picture them doused in a flammable oil of sorts, perhaps something like animal fat. After all, the body would have to be burned so as to reach the nostrils of God. Once everything is just right, Abraham binds his beloved Isaac and takes out his knife. With a shaking hand, he is ready. But all of a sudden, in comes the plot-twist. As Abraham goes to kill Isaac, we read, in Gen 22:11: “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do no lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Immediately following this, Abraham sees a ram and sacrifices that instead. After he does this, he names the place Adonai-jireh , or “The Lord will provide” (Gen 22:14). In order to determine the power and meaning of this text, we are provided with some very strong clues in the very language used. Notice: • Verse 1: Elohim tested Abraham… • Verse 3: Elohim had shown him… • Verse 8: Elohim himself will provide… • Verse 9: Elohim had shown him… • Verse 11: But the angel of Yahweh called… Here we have a wrestling with “God’s will.” Initially, a theological assumption is made about the creator God, Elohim, arguing that he needs Isaac’s blood to be spilled. But then the God of Abraham, and then later Isaac, and Jacob, via a messenger angel, rescues Isaac from this false, and might I say murderous, sacrificial assumption. Remember, everyone in Abraham’s day believed all gods, Elohim included, demanded blood. But this is simply false. In fact, it is a lie, and ultimately comes from the satan—or in other words, the human principle of accusation—the one whom Jesus would later label a liar and murderer from the start (John 8:44). The lie the satan hides behind here is that God demands blood. The truth, though, is that it is really us as the satan who are the lying, sacrifice-demanding murderers, not Elohim . In all reality, the one true God—whether named Elohim or Yahweh—has never demanded blood sacrifices, but that theological understanding is not our starting position; the belief in a God who demands human sacrifice is . This passage takes us from one theological place to another. It is a baby step in a way, but it is also huge (especially for me!) because it is ultimately the reason we do not sacrifice first-born sons any longer (and I am a first-born son!).”

 

One theme that we see throughout the story of humanity in the Bible is how we have gotten lost and God has met us, not where we should be, but rather where we are—lost, broken, confused about who we are and confused about who God is.

Around twenty years ago, a bunch of friends and I had the brilliant idea of climbing to the top of Mt. Burke in the Canadian Rockies which is a 3000ft elevation gain, on December 23rd…and toboggan down the north face. Yes, this is one of the few times in my life, where I actually thought I was going to die that day. We ended up getting lost on the way down and what should have been an easy two hour hike to the base of the mountain turned into an exhausting adventure trudging through deep snow in the dark, trying to find our way back. Fortunately, one of the guys that had started up the trail with us had gotten tired out and turned back while we were on the way up and was back at the vehicle waiting for us, wondering what was taking us so long. He became concerned for our safety and managed to get the help of some guys who had their snowmobiles out, and together, they went looking for us. Where should have I have been at eleven o’clock at night on December 23rd? Probably at home with my wife and my one month old daughter. That’s not where I was though. I was cold, tired and hopelessly lost in the forest somewhere on the north west side of Mt. Burke. I needed rescue and my rescuers came to where I was and took me to where I should have been. This is a picture of how God has met humans where we were throughout history and brings us to where we should be.

I want you to imagine someone important in your life. A person you cannot imagine living without. It could be your wife, or your husband, brother or sister, your mom, dad, a grandparent, that crazy uncle, a lifelong friend. Picture that person in your mind. Now imagine something you could do that would hurt that relationship. Imagine you have indeed done that…whatever it is. You feel incredible remorse and want more than anything else to make things right with that person. You are willing to sacrifice anything of yours which you hold as valuable in order to have that relationship back. Your whole view of that person you love has now changed. You imagine him/her to be, at best, disappointed with you, at worst, furious. You end up avoiding that person out of guilt, maybe working up the courage to make a phone call or send a text offering to make up for what you have done. If you can only exchange something valuable of yours for forgiveness, it would have the effect of easing your conscience.

This is a picture of the human condition. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve made a wrong decision. They decided to act like less than they really were. In their minds, God was angry with them and they needed to do something to make up for what they had done. They produced children. The children got their ideas about what God is like from their parents. The children also made wrong decisions and assumed that God is angry with them and that they need to do something to make up for it. This is the system of sin which Adam and Eve introduced, something which evangelicals would call the “sin nature.” Here’s the thing though. God was never angry or disappointed. It’s probably quite difficult to be angry or disappointed with anyone when you exist outside of time and have already known for a few billion years what decisions people will make. The first thing God does in fact, after Adam and Eve sinned was to come looking for them so that they could go for a walk as they usually did. Together enjoying relationship. God did not withdraw from Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve hid from God. God has always demonstrated forgiveness, yes even before the cross. In fact, I believe that the very act of creation was an act of forgiveness. God never needed for us to “make up for what we had done” He never needed an exchange of something valuable in order to forgive.

Lets get back to Tommy Lee Jones shall we? In the 1997 movie “M.I.B.”, the characters “Kay” played by Tommy Lee Jones and “Jay” played by Will Smith have cornered a villainous alien known as the “Bug”. The bug takes away and ingests the weapons of our would be heroes in the epic final confrontation between protagonists and antagonist. Kay then tells Jay that he’s gonna get his gun back, and moves in front of the alien shouting insults. He then screams at the bug, “EAT ME!” The bug more than gladly obliges, thinking that this is the end of one enemy. Kay, however finds his gun inside the alien and kills it from within. Just like God did to religion. He climbed into our darkness, into our mythology, our misconception—our religion for the purpose of killing it from within. He met us where we were and continues to meet us where we are; smack dab in the middle of our lostness.

In the preface of his book, “Across All Worlds”, Dr. C. Baxter Krueger brilliantly writes:
“Jesus wants His Father known. He is passionate about it. He cannot bear for us to live without knowing His Father, without knowing His heart, His lavish embrace, His endless love—and the sheer freedom to be that works within us as we see His Father’s face. Jesus knows the Father from all eternity. He sits at His right had and sees Him face to face, and shares life and all things with Him in the fellowship of the Spirit. How could He be content to leave us in the dark with no vision of His Father’s heart? How could this Son be indifferent when we are so lost and afraid and bound in our mythology? Burning with the Father’s love for us, inspired with the Spirits fire, the Son ran to embrace our broken existence, baptizing Himself into our blindness. He braved the seas of our darkness to come to us. Why? So that he could share with us His own communion with His father in the Spirit, and we could know the Father with Him, and taste and feel and experience life in His embrace.”

 

I can hear the objections from my religious readers already: What about Hebrews 9:22 where it says, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” NIV

First of all, if you are still reading an NIV Bible, do yourself a favour. Light it on fire and get yourself a better translation that isn’t jam packed with sloppy interpretive bias. Here’s a better rendering of that verse with some context: Hebrews 9:18-22 NASBS
“[18] Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. [19] For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, [20] saying, “This IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.” [21] And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. [22] And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” There is a clear distinction here in, “ONE MAY ALMOST SAY”, and “ACCORDING TO THE LAW.” Who’s law is this anyway? God’s, or man’s? Since we know now that God never wanted sacrifice, I think we can confidently say that this was mans law, made by men who mistakenly thought that God wanted sacrifice. God entered our religious system to meet us where we were. God does not require anything in order to forgive. In fact, as soon as you bring a transaction of any sort into the picture, it is not forgiveness anymore. It is a payoff.

One other thing that my religious readers will bring up is a verse from the NASB since that is what I have been primarily using in this essay: 1 John 4:7-11 NASBS
“[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. [10] In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Yes, even the NASB has some sloppy translation, and the usage of the word “propitiation” is a perfect example of this. The NRSV correctly translates this as “atonement”. Why is this important? The word, “propitiation” carries the meaning of “being appeased”, which necessitates a transaction, which is then no longer forgiveness. Atonement is an excellent word choice. Lets break it down to get its meaning. At. One. Ment. To reunite, to make whole again. It has the imagery of the Hebrew word, “shalom”—nothing broken, nothing missing. It’s interesting to note that the greek word irresponsibly translated as “propitiation” is ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). This word comes from the Hebrew word כּפּרת (kappôreth) which means “Lid”, referring to the lid of the ark of the covenant. This is the place where God (the uncreated) and the high priest (being the representative for the created) would meet (At one ment) together in the holy of holies and were able to do so because of the blood sacrifice covering sin. (Sin needed to be covered so that the people’s conscience could be cleared at least for a while in order to enjoy relationship with God. God enters the sacrificial system and allows them to use this as a means to relationship—atonement). Jesus the Christ became the lid or the place of atonement where the uncreated and the created are able to meet. Jesus was the sacrifice (who was not sacrificed to God, but rather to humanity) and He did not just cover our sin, but actually removed it. We are now a kingdom of priests able to always be in the holy of holies.

1John 2:2 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” NRSV. John 1:29, speaking of John the Baptist says, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”. Why was it important for Jesus to remove the “sins of the world”? Sin leads to a guilty conscience. A guilty conscience leads to the severing of relationship. Hebrews 9:11-14 NASBS
[11] But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; [12] and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. [13] For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

When we look at the whole picture of God that scripture paints for us, we must come to one of four conclusions:
God is not immutable. His essence can change throughout the ages
There is disunity within the Godhead with God the Father being the angry, punishing judge, God the Son being the loving, forgiving, self-sacrificing one and the Holy Spirit being the neutral one.
Scripture is unreliable as it presents two clearly different and conflicting views of God’s character.
God is immutable. God the Father is, always has been and always will be like God the Son. We haven’t always known this as a human species, but with the perfect revelation of God in Jesus, we now do. Scripture is simply a reflection of our progressive knowledge of this.

I believe number four is the correct answer.
God entered our religious mythology and though never desiring or needing sacrifice to forgive, recognized that it was us who thought we needed the system of sacrifice to appease our guilty consciences. He met us where we were, not where we should have been. We see throughout the story of scripture how God reveals more and more truth about Himself until we finally have the full and perfect revelation of God in Jesus—whom we sacrifice on the altar of religion, violence, empire and human independence in our lostness, confusion and sin-sickness.

Was Jesus a sacrifice? Yes, in fact the ultimate sacrifice to end all sacrifices. He was the sacrifice that we demanded, not God. He was the sacrifice that proved that no matter how much we fell short of what it means to be human, made in the image of God. No matter how independent, selfish, prideful and violent we were, God in Christ would hang on the Roman instrument of torture, bleeding, hurting, and lost in our darkness, just like us…and He would say, “Father forgive them.” God never asked for sacrifice. We did. And God entered our lostness and met us where we were, giving us what we asked for, to relate to us, to show us that He is here for us as our healer and rescuer.

 

In the wake of Americas latest worst mass shooting in history, this time in Los Vegas, there has been the initial response of shock, horror and crushing sadness. And there should be. After all this is an incomprehensible tragedy. Precious lives have been senselessly stolen from loved ones. This should never be!

And then we have the very predictable secondary responses: The left screams, “America needs more gun control!” while the right stampedes to the nearest gun shop to buy more guns. Both sides have lost the plot of the story of what it means to be fully human. Less guns will not cure Americas problem with violence, more guns will not protect you from more violence. Both represent a myopic ideology. No America, you have a bigger problem. Your whole civilization is built on and dependant upon violence and exploitation. It has been that way since day one and has only gotten worse. The cure to the problem has nothing to do with more gun control. It has nothing to do with attempting to legislate morality. The cure is something that will take a complete change in your way of thinking.

America, you are not a Christian nation.

You have never been a Christian nation.

Never.

What does it mean to be a Christian? The term was originally a derogatory one used of the followers of “The Way” in the first century by the Romans. It means “little Christs.” The violent, powerful empire of the time was confused and disgusted by the counter intuitive lifestyle of the early church who lived according to the example of Jesus. While Rome killed, tortured, mocked and persecuted the followers of the Way, the Christians responded as their master did. With non-violence, with love, with forgiveness. After all, Jesus is the one who contradicted Moses of the Old Testament, telling them (in Matthew 5:38-48 NASBS)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

He didn’t just say these things either. He lived by them and died by them. Jesus, the perfect representation of God the Father allowed violent people to torture and kill Him, and forgave them as they did so, giving us the most vivid demonstration of Gods heart toward us. That He would rather die forgiving us than to respond to us with violence and hatred.

What would it look like, for you to be a Christian nation America? Instead of spending billions upon billions of dollars “bombing the shit” out of your enemies, why don’t you take that money and send civilians instead of soldiers to your enemies to inflict upon them acts of love and compassion. Why don’t you use that money to help the needy and destitute among your own people. Why don’t you use your vast resources to bring hope and healing? Violence only breeds more violence. The most vicious weapon you have that will destroy the cycle of violence is the very one that Jesus Himself used—forgiveness.

When Jesus was asked the question by a Jewish lawyer, “What is the most important commandment under the law?” He responded by saying, “Love your God with all of your heart and love your neighbour as your self.” In other words, proper worship and social justice. America, is this what you are known for? Or do you perhaps have more of a world wide reputation for your military machine?

“But”, you say, “we need our military might! Otherwise our enemies will destroy us.” Yes, maybe your enemies would destroy you. Love makes you vulnerable. But maybe, just maybe you could heed the advise of Abraham Lincoln who would destroy an enemy by making him his friend. Friends don’t destroy friends. Here’s some advice: Money talks. Look on your dollar bill and see if it still says “In God We Trust”.

The vociferous call of the Christ to repentance, the call to forgiveness and non-violence still resonates throughout the millennia, and still you manage to drown it out with your worship teams in your mega churches and in your prayers asking God to bless you as you send your young men and women overseas to bring acts of violence to people who need forgiveness. These mass shootings are simply a symptom and a natural result of a society built upon the shaky foundation of violence and hatred. The violence will simply grow larger every time you respond to it with more violence. The only way to end this is repentance—a change in how you think. Its time to embrace the way of Christ. Its time to be the kingdom of God. Its time to become a Christian nation.

 

The pain drags you into a black hole of despair. It seems like there is no escape, that life will never be good ever again. It sucks the life out of you, drains you of energy. You can’t even find the strength to get out of bed any more. There’s no point anyway. God where are you? Are you punishing me for something? What have I done to deserve this?

The pain can come from many things. Sickness of the body, sickness of the mind, a friend who has betrayed you, a spouse that has abused you, even a child who defies you and refuses to make decisions that will bring her the bright future you want for her. The financial pain of not having the money for the necessities of life for you and your dependants.

Pain is inescapable in this world. We all experience it in one way or another. What is the point of it? Are we simply put here to feel pain throughout our days and then go to the grave in misery? Or is there a greater purpose? Can beauty come out of pain?

In this picture there are two very different pieces of wood. The top one is a cabinet door which I am refinishing for a client. It is made from #1 grade maple. From a tree which had ideal growing conditions. There are no knots or flaws. It is perfect.

The bottom piece is going to be a new coffee bar for my house. It is made from a piece of Douglass fir which grew under harsh conditions in the Canadian Rockies. It is full of knots and imperfections, some of which I have inlaid turquoise. Which piece is more beautiful? I think the bottom one.

God doesn’t bring us pain. Pain is the result of living in the system of sin we are all born into. We were made to be dependant on God, living in the flow of perfect love. When we resist that flow of love, when we do not receive God’s love, when we do not love others with our actions, we bring pain on ourselves an those around us.

God is a craftsman, a true artist who is able to take imperfect lives, wounded and broken from pain and make them beautiful. I’m learning to trust God more and more as I see the results of painful things in my life. I can start to see the artwork He is creating with it. I am able to understand and help others who are going through the hard things I’ve experienced. There is still some pain which I do not yet see how it will be made beautiful, but I trust the divine artist that some day He will indeed turn my pain into beauty. Thank you Jesus!

When I was born I was given a sailboat. My sailboat was securely anchored in a little harbor . While I spent all my time on this boat, it always remained firmly anchored. I was told that it was to dangerous to leave. There were so many wrong directions to take, so many storms that could sink me, so many ways to get lost. Better to stay anchored in my little harbour. I felt safe there in my little sailboat. For a long time that was enough. I learned from the other sailors in my harbor to work hard to keep my sailboat looking its best. We all spent our time shining up the outside of those boats. Sometimes we would be so desperate to have a shiny boat that we would toss our mess on to someone else’s boat. Most times we would just take the mess below deck and shove it in a corner since it was important that the harbor stayed clean as well. We wanted it to be attractive to those sailors out in the ocean so they would also want to come stay in the harbor. After awhile it started to get real messy inside my sailboat, it was harder to live in it. I began to listen to some of the sailors who came and stopped in our harbor. I heard stories of beautiful lands and incredible journeys. I saw sailors full of joy. Was that even possible? They should have been stressed and discontented away from our safe haven. But I could not deny the joy and the longing which stirred in my own soul to see the things that they talked about for myself. Some in my harbor cautioned me to never listen to those sailors, they could lead me to lose my safety. Some tried to stop sailors from coming into the harbor, but I raised my anchor just a little so I could be at the edge of the open ocean. From there I continued to listen to the sailors and their tales. I especially listened to the ones who told of an ocean vast with unexplored paradise, of the feeling of wind in the sails, and a wide open horizon in all directions. My conversations with the ocean goers had changed, no longer was I trying to convince them to stay in the harbor. My fellow harborites did not like this. They said, you must tell the ocean goers that they will be killed, that they can only be safe in the harbor. But finally, I worked up the courage to say that I thought everyone was safe, that the ocean was on our side. The harbormasters said that I must not say this to the other harborites or everyone would leave and be dashed on the rocks, or sink. I knew they were wrong and I knew I wanted the joy that I saw in the ocean goers, so I pulled up my anchor and let my sailboat drift into the ocean. But I didn’t know how to really sail, except from watching the ocean goers. Pretty soon I was a long way from anything familiar, adrift in a vast ocean of grace. The

How many times have you actually thought about your name? Why is it connected to you as a person? Why do you respond to that particular sequence of sounds? Does your name have meaning, or is it a word which just rolled off of your parents tongues just right and they decided to call you that? Names have great meaning in some places of the world. I think we have lost that element in North American culture and are truly missing out on something good.

God is referred to by many names throughout scripture. For example: Elohim (Creator mighty and strong), El Shaddai (many breasted one), Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will provide), Yahweh Rapha (The Lord who heals), among many others. All of these many names describe something that God does, or perhaps a part of His character, but fall rather short in telling us who He really is. In the third chapter of Exodus, Moses is asking God for His name so that he might tell the Israelites who had sent him to deliver them from Egypt. God gives him the most mysterious and yet His most complete name.

“I Am Who I AM”.

What kind of a name is that? Seems kind of vague at first glance until you realize the implication of this name.

In John 8:12, Jesus claims to be the “light of the world”. What does light have to do with it? It’s like this: No one can actually see light. It is because of light that we can see what is around us. Sight has no meaning outside of the context of light. If there is no light, you simply cannot see anything. You may as well not even have eyes.

When God announces Himself as “I AM”, He is saying not so much that He exists, but rather, that He IS existence. Existence has no meaning outside of the context of God.

In John 8:56-59, Jesus says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”

Jesus claims to be God. He claims to be existence. The apostle Paul confirms this and expands on the astounding implications of this amazing claim. Colossians 1:16-20. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

All things exist specifically in the Christ of the God-head and He has reconciled all things to Himself, making peace from the worst imaginable display of human violence? What kind of God is this? What does this say of His essence? All of the names of God describe different characteristics which God has, but fall short of describing the most important thing. His essence. The very thing which defines who He is and what drives everything He does.

And then John comes out and says it in 1John 4:8. God is love. Not “God loves”, as in just another characteristic. God IS LOVE. This is His very essence.

What does “love” mean though? The word “love” has, like our own names, become all but meaningless. The language the New Testament was written in, Koine Greek has three words with different meanings which have all been sloppily rendered into the one english word “love”.
-Eros: Means to desire for sensual fulfillment.
-Phileo: To be a friend, to have affection for or personal attachment to. To feel sentimental towards.
-Agape: (And this is the word from which we get “God is love”). This is unconditional, other thinking, self emptying love. The kind of action where you put someone else’s needs, desires and well being ahead of your own, no matter how nice or nasty that person is.

The implications of this are HUGE! This is God’s very essence! This is the essence of existence Himself! And all that exists needs to be seen within the context of the One who is existence, who is love. This changes the way you see God. This changes the way you read the Bible. This changes the way you live!

All that exists was created to exist within the flow of Agape love. Which explains the pain, the hurt, the brokenness we see in the world. If I use a fine china teacup to drive a 3.5” spike into a 2X4, I’m going to end up with a broken teacup. It simply was not designed to be a hammer anymore than we were designed to live independently of God’s flow of love. If you live in such a way that you resist God’s love to you, or you withhold that love to others around you, there will be brokenness, there will be sickness. The Bible calls this sin. When we understand and embrace the reality that the One who is existence is love, there is no more fear, no more selfish pride, no more hatred, no more greed as there is no more scarcity. Being alive just became more meaningful. Let’s surrender to to the One who is existence, who is love. Freely receiving His love and passing it on to everyone else around us. This is how we were designed to live. This is the only way we can find healing and be truly alive!

One of my fondest childhood memories is going to my maternal grandparents house on a Saturday morning, watching cartoons and enjoying a meal of waffles covered with nanking cherry syrup. Homemade of course, with the cherries picked from my grandparents own yard. I’ve always loved the taste of nanking cherry syrup and have missed it and craved it for well over twenty years now.

My grandparents sold their house back in the early 1990’s, leaving those treasured cherry bushes behind. I suppose my grandma could have still made the syrup, harvesting those bright red berries from some other source, but truthfully she was just plain tired of cooking and baking in her old age. She finally passed away back in 2014 at the ripe old age of 93.

Alas, my hopes of tasting nanking cherry syrup again was gone. Now I loved my grandmother dearly for more reasons than just her culinary skills, but lets face it. No one can make food like grandma can. She was the master. And I had no idea where I could procure nanking cherries anyhow.

My wife and I bought our house almost eighteen years ago. One big selling feature of the property, besides it being something we could actually afford to buy, was its large yard, plentiful trees and bushes. For many years I have noticed that many of my bushes produce red berries. I have always wondered what kind of bushes they are and if the berries are edible or not. I had never tried to eat any for fear that they could be poisonous.

About this time last year we had a gathering of friends in our yard, enjoying food, laughter and silly stories around our fire pit. That year, it had been an unusually rainy spring and summer. Resulting from this, the bushes were drooping with plump red berries. I mentioned in conversation that I had always been curious as to what kind of berries I had growing all over my yard. One of my friends, to my horror, plucked a berry off of a nearby bush and popped it into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully as I watched in anticipation with my hand reaching for my phone, anticipating a 911 call.

He spit out a pit and announced that it was a nanking cherry bush.

Could it be true? A nanking cherry bush in my very own yard? It was true indeed. I was astonished and overjoyed! That which I had craved for so many years had been in my possession all along. I went looking around my property and discovered much to my delight that I had not just one, but four nanking cherry bushes in my back yard.

All of these years, I had desired the sweet syrup made from these berries, but was deprived of them. For seventeen years I was surrounded by a wealth of nanking cherries, but did not enjoy them. I had not believed. They were always mine, but I could not enjoy the reality of what was mine until I believed in what they were.

The cherries were harvested the very next day, and to my delight, I discovered that my dear wife makes nanking cherry syrup just like grandma did!

1 Peter 1:3 NASBS
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

All that you have craved deep down inside has been in your possession all along. You are forgiven. You are included. You are loved. You belong. It has been done for you without any effort of yours or permission from you. You cannot enjoy it until you believe.

Believe it, enjoy it, live it. It’s yours!

 

Recently there was a story in the local newspaper about a body that was found on a construction site in a nearby town. Turns out a 21 year old man killed his own father and buried his body on the job site. The young man was predictably charged with second degree murder. He was also charged with an “indignity to a body.” This seems a little bit strange to me. Allow me to explain: Presumably the “indignity” was the means of disposal. I can understand maybe a littering charge, I mean who really wants to be tripping over over pop cans, empty milk shake cups…and dead bodies when you are out for a walk. Its just unpleasant. But indignity to a body? Really? I have a hard time believing that the former occupant of the dead body really cared about how it was disposed of by the time the “indignity” happened. Its an empty shell. Its not a person anymore.

Do you ever wonder why it is illegal to cause indignity to a dead body, and yet it is perfectly legal and even encouraged in our society to cause indignity to a living human soul? I think that perhaps this was the causation that precipitated the the murder which lead to the indignity to the body in the first place. Genesis 2:7 NASBS
[7] Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

In the Genesis account of God creating mankind we see God breathing His life into us, animating us…making us alive. In the previous chapter Genesis 1:26, God had decided to make mankind in His very image for the purpose of relationship. The created with the uncreated. There is something special about being a human. We have been given an inherent dignity.

I’m just guessing here, but I think it would be safe to say that this young man and his father had for a long time, traded indignities to each other’s souls. They had likely each forgotten as most of us do what our true identity is—that we are all created with dignity. That each one of us is a one of a kind masterpiece created by the divine artist. And they reinforced a false identity of each other to each other. Anger grew and turned into violence which brought death, guilt, shame and “indignity to the body”.

How many times every day do we look at someone else and see them as common, less than ourselves, maybe just a pain in the ass? Do you look down on the person in disgust who just inconvenienced you by doing something stupid? Do you mutter under your breath when you see that homeless person, that it’s there own damn fault for being in that situation, that they could have made better life decisions? How about that annoying family member or coworker you just don’t like. Do run them down in your thoughts and words? Yes, these words are an elbow in my own ribs. Like all of us, I forget the value of people much too easily and one reason I write the stuff I write is to remind myself of these important truths.

How would the world around you and I look if we recognized the dignity of every person around us. If whenever we saw another human, we would pause and look at them in awe and wonder of their uniqueness and irreplaceable value as one handcrafted by the Divine artist Himself? What would the world look like if we treated everyone like that?

God saw that we had, in our imaginations, lost our true identity. He reintroduced the dignity of the human project by becoming human as well. In the “Lords prayer” we hear Jesus praying in Matthew 6:10 NASBS “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” What is God’s will? It is the same as the greatest commandment, that we love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbour as ourselves. God is all about relationship. This is how the world will look around you and I as we recognize human dignity. It would look like the healing of human souls. It would look like heaven on earth.

 

“Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity,” says the author of Ecclesiastes.

Another way to render “vanity” is “meaningless” or “empty”. The authorship of this book has traditionally been attributed to King Solomon, the “wisest man to ever live”. This is a man who had everything. Health, riches, power, peace, good food and drink, and maybe a few too many wives. All this, and he declares that life is meaningless.

What gets you up in the morning? What, if anything gives you reason to say at the end of the day that “this has been a good day”? How can we possibly have meaning when Solomon couldn’t find it?

We Have An Intrinsic Need To Self Actualize

The term “self actualization” was coined by the organismic theorist Kurt Goldstein. “In Goldstein’s view, it is the organism’s master motive, the only real motive: ‘the tendency to actualize itself as fully as possible is the basic drive… the drive of self-actualization.’”

In other words, everyone without exception needs to have a sense of meaning. We need a lasting purpose in life.

Abraham Maslow identified five human needs, starting with our most basic of physiological needs and then continuing on to safety, then love & belonging, then esteem, and at the very top, self actualization. It is very interesting to me that the science of psychology ties together meaning with spirituality. This tells me that there is nothing in the physical realm which in and of itself can provide anyone with real or lasting meaning in life.

Personally, I think that in order for anyone to find any kind of meaning in existence, we need to start to understand the nature of God.

In the 300’s, the Cappadocian fathers were largely responsible for digging into scripture and giving us the non dualistic trinitarian theology that I believe is required for us to understand what God is all about and how we fit into this existence we’ve been thrust into. Though the modern western stream of Christianity largely believes in the basic doctrine of the trinity and gives lip-service to it, we have lost the implications of what this trinitarian God means for us.

In the 400’s Augustine of Hippo infused the dualistic philosophies of Plato and Aristotle into Christianity, and I think we need to go back to the pre-Augustine church in order to see the connection between the trinity and our life’s meaning.

 

There Is No Separation Between God & Man

The biggest lie heard in the western church today is that we are separated from God. This idea comes from a partial reading of Habbakuk 1:13 which says, “Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, and you cannot look on wrongdoing” (NRSV).

Really?

Does God have such a weak stomach that He cannot look upon the mess His own creation has gotten into?

I have a wife and three daughters. One of our favorite family activities over the years has been to go camping in the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary, Alberta. When we were younger and poorer we used a tent to go camping. Eventually we bought our first small camping trailer. It wasn’t much, but it had beds and a small kitchen, and like the previous tent, no washroom.

Now, campgrounds are all equipped with outhouses for folks like our younger selves who don’t have the luxury of bringing the portable washroom facilities that our older, better established selves now enjoy. As a dad with small children, there was something that always bothered me about the outhouses. The hole was just the right size for a small child to fit through. A thought that always went through my mind was, “What if one of my kids fell down there? What would I do?”

I can tell you with certainty. If one of my kids had fallen into an outhouse, I would not look away claiming that my eyes are too pure to look upon such filth. I would find a way to join my child down there in the filth to rescue her. Nothing would stop me. There would be no hesitation.

The second part of that verse from Habbakuk reads, “WHY DO YOU look upon the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?” Yes, God does look upon sin. Jesus is God. God became one of us and “jumped into the outhouse” with us so to speak. Nothing can stop Him from rescuing us. Nothing.

Speaking about Jesus, Colossians 1:15-20 reads:

“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (NASB)

It’s kind of hard to ignore verse 17. “He is before all things, and IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER”. Does “all things” really mean that? Indeed, Paul previously detailed what “all things” includes: things in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities—all things.

What are the implications of this? There is no separation between us and God. All are in Christ, whether they know it or not.

Relationship vs Substance

Aristotle taught us that substance was more important than relationship. One thing I really love about being alive in modern time, is how science is dispelling Neoplatonic and Aristotelian philosophies. There are discoveries constantly being made in the various disciplines of quantum physics which prove what Christendom has known for centuries. We live in exciting times!

We know that an atom, the smallest building block of substance or matter is made of three elements. Electrons, protons and neutrons. None of these things are able to form matter individually. They are held together by a relationship which we do not yet understand. Without this relationship, they cannot be held together. If they cannot be held together, there is no substance.

Therefore, Aristotle was wrong. Relationship is not only of greater importance than substance, it is the very reason substance is able to exist. I think that science will yet discover that this relationship which holds these pieces together is found in verse 17.

Like the atom, the Cappadocian fathers tell us that the Godhead is made of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each one an individual person. All have the same substance or essence. If you take the Father by Himself, you would not have God. Same with the Son or the Holy Spirit. They only form God together, held together by relationship. We know what that relationship is. It is love.

1 John tells us repeatedly that “God is love”. It is not just another characteristic of God, otherwise John would have said, “God loves”. This is the very essence of God. What does this love look like though? How is it expressed? Is it kind of like, “I love camping, or I love my motorcycle?” Or is it something more meaningful?

The greek word for this love is “Agape” which essentially means an “other thinking, unconditional” love. It is a love that no matter what another person does to you or says to you, you accept and love them anyway. You think of them before yourself.

How is this love expressed? The concept of how love is expressed is found throughout scripture, but is best described in Philippians 2:5-7, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but EMPTIED HIMSELF, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men.” (NASB).

The greek word for this is “Kenosis”. The Cappadocian fathers imagined this kenotic love within the trinity to be like a dance. The Father empties Himself of love into the Son, the Son empties Himself of love into the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit empties herself of love into the Father.

Some have objected to the term, “emptying”, like, “how can the Father be empty of love?” The answer to that is that He can’t. Think of the water cycle. Imagine a major river like the Mississippi, for example. It is constantly emptying itself into the ocean. It is never empty, but always in the process of emptying. The ocean likewise is always emptying into the atmosphere and the atmosphere is always emptying back into the river system. It’s like a dance.

They called it “Perichoresis”.

The Divine Dance

God created mankind and wished to include us in this dance.

The two problems were:

We are created and God is uncreated. We cannot understand God or have a relationship with Him as such.
We fell short by seeking independence, by choosing to have our own knowledge of good and evil over simple trust and surrender.
God solved problem #1 at the incarnation by becoming human. Jesus the Son is unique in the Godhead as He has hypostatic union in that He is forever 100% divine and also 100% human. He became the meeting place for the created and the uncreated to be together.

Problem number #2 was solved at the cross and through the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 says, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam ALL die, so also in Christ ALL will be made alive.” (NASB).

Somehow Christ took our sinful “life” from us (all humanity, not just believers) at the cross and it died with Him. With the resurrection, Christ took His life, His relationship with the Father and shared it with us. So in Christ we have a meeting place. We have one member of the Trinity who is both human and divine, who shares His life with us.

What does this have to do with our self actualization?

We need to come to grips with the reality that our meaning will never come from our jobs, our social status, how much money we have, etc. These are all things and relationships which can certainly bring satisfaction and joy, but are all in the end—temporal. We were created by One who is love, for the purpose of sharing in this love. We are to live, allowing God to fill us with His love, and we in turn are to unselfishly, thinking of others instead of ourselves, allow that very love to be emptied into the lives of those around us, only to be constantly filled again with Gods unending love.

Might I suggest that this kind of life, engaging in the dance, God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven by us, in a way, is heaven?

Might I also suggest that those who reject God’s love, or maybe take in His love and horde it unselfishly for themselves are living in a kind of hell?

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, “If i speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, i have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (NASB).

Conclusion

Let’s bring this into our everyday lives. If I go to my job and don’t do my best work for the sake of my customer, participating in the flow of love, it is meaningless. If I remain faithful to my wife out of obligation and my own sense of moral pride, but don’t let the love of God flowing through me touch her life, it is meaningless. If I go to a restaurant enjoying top quality service, food and drink, but am rude to the servers, withholding God’s love from their lives, it too becomes meaningless.

Wherever I go, if the lives of others are not better because of my involvement in them in some way, I think that perhaps, I have fallen short of engaging in this dance of God. I love the way Francois DuToit words 1 Cor. 16:14 in the Mirror Bible, “Agape is your genesis. Loving everyone around you is what you are all about. (Our love for one another is awakened by God’s love for us.)”

How do I fix this then when I fall short? Is there a step by step program I can follow to be a better Christian?

The church has too often been guilty of telling us that we need to just obey, spend more time at church, read the Bible more, etc., in order to have a deep relationship with God. That is backwards thinking. God is not after our obedience nor our spiritual busyness. He is after relationship with us. Obedience is simply a natural byproduct of relationship.

With perfect relationship powered by kenotic love, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has no place in our lives. We don’t desire it. We only desire the tree of life. God’s love will indeed flow into the lives of others through us.

There is only one step: surrender.

This is the gospel which Jesus taught. The gospel is not the vapid soteriological escapism which is so prevalent in the western church today. It is not about uttering magic words a.k.a. the “sinners prayer” so that we can be forgiven by a god who’s pretty ticked off with us so that we won’t be tortured forever in the afterlife.

The gospel is knowing that we are already forgiven by a God who scandalously loves us, who has already, objectively included us in the relationship of the trinity. It is about having meaning in the here and now…and also in the afterlife. Our self actualization is found in the great dance. We are meant to live as a child, in complete surrender and dependence upon our loving Abba. We are also meant to participate in spreading that love to everyone around us.

Imagine a world where everyone lives like that with perfect meaning in their lives?

That will be heaven on earth. Let’s start with the world around us!