Today’s
Scripture Reading (December 30, 2017): 2 Thessalonians 1 & 2
I grew up in an era of hellfire and brimstone preaching.
I remember several examples of pastors deciding that the best way to convince
people that they needed to accept the Gospel of Christ was by reminding them
that hell awaits those who do not arrive at that decision. As a youth pastor, I
took my teens to what was, at the time, a Halloween phenomenon called “Hell
House” that attempted to do the same thing through a dramatic message in a
Christian Haunted House environment. Since then I think we probably need to
keep our Halloween houses haunted without trying to preach a Christian message through them.
While I do not doubt
the biblical message of hell and punishment, the reality is that hellfire and
brimstone messages have not proven to be a lasting way of making a positive
change. People may commit to Christ in
the moment, but that commitment often wavers. Another aspect of the problem is
that hellfire and brimstone sermons often violate Jesus’s law of love. It is
hard to preach a message that says that God loves you while insisting that he
can’t wait to punish you. Such preaching also provides ample fodder for those
who oppose the Gospel message.
The gospel of our Lord Jesus that Paul speaks of is one
of love. Love was the story that Jesus endeavored to tell. What is disturbing
to me is that often our behavior, especially when we try to tell a story filled
with punishment, is closer to that of the Pharisees who Jesus fought against
than it is to the teacher that we proclaim to follow. There is no doubt that
Jesus spoke of punishment, but that discipline
was often directed at the people who
refused to love – and those who lorded their religion over others.
When we love unconditionally, we fulfill the Gospel of
Christ. Of course, on our power, that
kind of love is often beyond our grasp. But when we endeavor to know God, he
fills in what it is that we lack. Every once in a while we need to be reminded of this idea of punishment, but it cannot be
our central message. I believe that heaven and hell exist, yet I am not sure
what kind of form either will take. I am content to accept Jesus words that he
has gone to prepare a place for me. But until I arrive at that place, it is enough for me to simply trust him and to learn to love this
world the way that he loved it; seeking not to highlight the negative, but
rather to strengthen the positive.
If we commit to learning the ways of love, punishment
will not be something about which we need to worry. The world in which we live will be enriched by our love, and the power of God will change this planet,
making it an even better place to live until the time when Jesus returns to
take us to the place that he is preparing for us.
And it is in this
Gospel that I place my faith.
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3
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