I've given this blog a facelift. I like it, and I hope you do too, although I might lighten the text color a bit.
Do they have a mercy rule in the MLB? Did you see the final score of the Rangers-Orioles game last night? 30-3!! That's a football score! I know, I know-- never give up, quitters never win, the tough get going, yada yada. But 30-3? Sheesh!! God is merciful, but apparently human beings in the heat of sports competition will thoroughly spank the other team if given the chance.
Speaking of mercy, I received a question from a young parishioner today about attending worship on Sunday mornings. She wondered if it was bad that she skips worship on Sundays. Her life is frenzied and harried during the week, and she needs time to go somewhere to chill out. So she comes for Sunday School (not exactly a place to relax) and then goes home. She's wondering if this is bad.
What she's really asking, I believe, has to do with her standing before God. If we don't attend worship, does God count it against us? If we do attend worship, does God give us gold stars (or at least a pat on the back)?
I told her that I'm of the mind that people should come to church only if they really want to or if they feel they really need to. That's what people do anyway. But if people are forced to come to church through coercive tactics by church leaders or pastors (such as using Scripture to threaten or to heap guilt trips), they will grow resentful, perhaps even toward God. They may even begin to see God as a hard to please crybaby who has to have everyone's utmost attention. Who's going to want to worship a God like that?
God is not affected negatively by our choices. If He is, shouldn't we be busy thinking of ways to appease Him, or at least try to compensate for those times when we make God angry? What kind of a life would that be? Is that the way God wants to interact with us? Is it possible to be beyond the reach of God's love and mercy? I don't think so! What do you think?
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Douglas Hoag
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About this blog
Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, New Lenox, Illinois.
I'm married with two children.
My MBTI type is E/INFP, in case that means anything to you.
My prayer: Lord, help me finish everything I sta
Most importantly, I believe that the reality and personage of God was uniquely and fully realized in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. No one else comes close.
Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for the seizures and/or convulsions you may experience while reading this blog.
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I'm married with two children.
My MBTI type is E/INFP, in case that means anything to you.
My prayer: Lord, help me finish everything I sta
Most importantly, I believe that the reality and personage of God was uniquely and fully realized in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. No one else comes close.
Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for the seizures and/or convulsions you may experience while reading this blog.
Doug Hoag's Profile
Create Your Badge
3 comments:
I often think that people imagine that God has a book not unlike a high school teacher's grade book, with categeories such as "church attendance", "prayer", "niceness", etc, and our entrance into heaven depends on getting enough checkmarks in the grade book.
As to the layout, the links on the side are a little hard to read - too dark against the dark background.
Pastor David,
Thanks for your comments! I think you're right about the "teacher grade book" analogy. God doesn't keep lists!
Yeah, the links are a bit dark, aren't they?
"Is it possible to be beyond the reach of God's love and mercy?"
Hmmm... my wife and I were talking about "boundaries" tonight. I said I don't think that there are any boundaries... (not meant as license for a free for all) What I mean is I don't think God says do this and don't do that and you in (or not). If there are such boundaries then it is possible to be out of bounds, out of God's love. But if there are no boundaries then its not possible to be beyond the reach of God's love. We all set up boundaries for ourselves (personal ethics) and God invites us to but these are a different set of boundaries that we should not confuse with supposed boundaries to God's love.
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