Theocentric Musings

My friend Derek Flood with a great observation: Now let's talk about sin and hell: I don't mean the trivial "did you ever tell a lie" nonsense. I mean real harm, real brokenness, real hurt. Do people do really hurtful and horrible things to each other? Yes, they certainly do. Are people hurt and broken? Yes, more than you know. Abuse is real. Rape is real. Starvation is real. War crimes are real. In short, there is a "hell" right here that many ... people are in the middle of, and that matters, and we should care. This idea of hell right now is vital because it means we need to care about people's lives right now, and not just about life after death. I believe in that, too, I hope for heaven with all my heart, I long for eternity. But life here matters. People matter. That's why Jesus spent all his time caring for people and their very real needs. When we have a theology that makes all of that a waste of time then we suck the life right out of ...

You know, this mentality that is rampant in Christianity of hoping Jesus comes soon and people have a "Calgon, take me away" moment, although understandable, really needs to die. Look, here's the problem with it, and it's been proven by human nature, anyone that is waiting to get "out" of something will never put as much effort or handle the responsibilities as well as someone that's "in" someth ing for the long haul. It's true at work, in marriages, in any relationship actually. Unless you are completely in it for the long haul, you're going to put a halfhearted effort in. We can convince ourselves in our mind otherwise, but it's the reality of how our mind frame affects us. So, yes, this world is bad, not as bad as the past despite what people believe, but it is bad and yes getting away from this fallen world would be nice, but your mentality has to be that you are here for the long haul, no matter how long, no matter how b...