Something I'm thinking about (not a finished set of thoughts):
We know a God in the bible who is depicted as a destroyer of pride, of complacency, of idolatry, of oppressors and exploiters. We see Him depicted as someone who forcefully disrupts lives that aren't going where He wants. We see Him presented as laying nations and families and lives to waste so good/better things can replace the bad. Sometimes He rips up a lot of stuff that's not even really terribly bad, because He wants something good to come out of the thing.
But, the bad being forcibly disrupted, I think we then see a change. We see Him stop the forcing. The "love" stuff is merely offered. Often there is a covenant. No one is forced to take Him up on it. He'll forcibly punish sin, but won't force grace. He will shatter someone's uncaring pride, but not force acceptance and generosity upon that person.
It seems as if good stuff can't really be forced without wrecking it. And good doesn't come just because you've removed evil. Good is no more merely the absence of evil than life is simply the absence of death, nor love, merely the absence of hate. And good is organic, in the sense that it needs to grow and develop. And it needs willingness. A relationship. Adherence to a covenant. And it's not guaranteed to work. The parable of the sower seems to present this pretty clearly.
I think God can shatter our pride and our vices, disrupt our church groups and families when they do bad things in His name, but I don't think He can really force good things upon us. I don't think He can force us to love. I don't think He can force any of the fruits of the spirit upon us without invalidating how that's supposed to go.
Almost makes it seem like, if there's bad stuff, He'll take care of it, whether we want Him to or not. And if we want good stuff, though, He'll provide opportunities, but unless we actively pursue good stuff, it's not something He's going to force. He can shatter our belief in our doctrines of bondage and shame and legalism, but He can't/won't force us to live free of bondage, shame and legalism.
We know a God in the bible who is depicted as a destroyer of pride, of complacency, of idolatry, of oppressors and exploiters. We see Him depicted as someone who forcefully disrupts lives that aren't going where He wants. We see Him presented as laying nations and families and lives to waste so good/better things can replace the bad. Sometimes He rips up a lot of stuff that's not even really terribly bad, because He wants something good to come out of the thing.
But, the bad being forcibly disrupted, I think we then see a change. We see Him stop the forcing. The "love" stuff is merely offered. Often there is a covenant. No one is forced to take Him up on it. He'll forcibly punish sin, but won't force grace. He will shatter someone's uncaring pride, but not force acceptance and generosity upon that person.
It seems as if good stuff can't really be forced without wrecking it. And good doesn't come just because you've removed evil. Good is no more merely the absence of evil than life is simply the absence of death, nor love, merely the absence of hate. And good is organic, in the sense that it needs to grow and develop. And it needs willingness. A relationship. Adherence to a covenant. And it's not guaranteed to work. The parable of the sower seems to present this pretty clearly.
I think God can shatter our pride and our vices, disrupt our church groups and families when they do bad things in His name, but I don't think He can really force good things upon us. I don't think He can force us to love. I don't think He can force any of the fruits of the spirit upon us without invalidating how that's supposed to go.
Almost makes it seem like, if there's bad stuff, He'll take care of it, whether we want Him to or not. And if we want good stuff, though, He'll provide opportunities, but unless we actively pursue good stuff, it's not something He's going to force. He can shatter our belief in our doctrines of bondage and shame and legalism, but He can't/won't force us to live free of bondage, shame and legalism.
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