A distinction with a difference
In Christ, is God reconciled to us... or are we reconciled to God?
What was the nature of our alienation from God? Most of us have grown up thinking of God as being angry at us for our sin, and as that being the basis of our alienation from Him. But what if God was never our Enemy? What if the problem all along was that, in our fallenness and unbelief, we were His enemies?
What if even hell is- as Dr. Steve Hein once suggested to our Doctrine class at River Forest- finally nothing more or less than God letting people who want nothing to do with Him have their own way?
Thanks to Glen Piper for raising a distinction with some very major differences! I invite you to join me in thinking about that distinction- and what it means.
Comments
Hell as the place where God lets folks "get their way" and have nothing to do with Him --- That is a very interesting way to look at it. One, I think, that is most likely spot-on.
It almost seems counterintuitive, but a theology wherein we must be reconciled to God is actually more God-centered than one where God must be reconciled to us. After all, God was/is/will be unchanging, so why would we think He needs to reconcile (i.e., change) in any way? Why, because to think that puts the focus on us as the central player -- a position that the Old Adam likes very much!
And, thanks for the link/HT, Bob!
-ghp