I got to preach last night… for the first time since 2008… and really so in many ways, for the first time ever. I was so excited I wanted to do handstands. Partly because I got to preach, partly because I did so without fear, and partly because it was just plain fun. (and my loving family, especially my pastors, made it even more fun. Yuuuuuuup!)

God has been talking to me a lot about inheritance (and talking to a lot of other people too)… 2012 is the year of government and occupation, and inheritance has everything to do with that. There’s going to be a lot of talk about this subject this year… God has taught us the Kingdom and taught us sonship and now the sons of the King are learning to live as sons in the Kingdom.  So I talked about inheritance last night, and then a funny thing happened.

When I got done preaching, Pastor Mike joked that I’d been a good commercial for Pastor Bill’s Kingdom class in the 5Runner School. It was a funny ha-ha comment but it wasn’t really until I was getting in the car that the full impact of his statement hit me: I’m really starting to walk in the inheritance my spiritual parents (Pastors Bill & Denise) have given me.

This is legacy in action…I’m building upon the investment that they’ve made in me… I’m not having to start from scratch. Pastor Bill has talked for a long time about his ceiling becoming our floor (not just Ken and I, but a lot of people) … and I got it… but now I’m really starting to get it.

And my heart’s desire is to raise people up… who also walk in that inheritance… who make my ceiling their floor and who build upon the legacy I’m building upon… and who raise people up to do the same… who raise more people up to do the same… this is how reformation comes. This is how the knowledge of the glory of God covers the whole earth… this is how the sons of God are revealed… it’s investment… it’s building… it’s true love. It’s God’s dream for me that He placed in Pastors Bill and Denise… it’s God’s dream for you that He placed in me… it’s God’s dream for others that He placed in you…

And what makes it even better is that I’m not building alone, but Ken and I are building together…I mean really, really together (thank You Lord!)… and what’s more awesome than that is we’re not building our own “little house in the big woods”, but we’ve joined with Apostles Mike and Debbie and New Day and our family there to bring reformation. We occupy together.

Living God’s dream is so awesome… and it just gets better and better… Yuuuuuuup!

The first is, “I let anyone lay hands on me – I trust God to keep me safe!” and the second is its opposite, “I don’t let just anybody pray for me!”

My personal take on it looks more like the former but has some elements of the latter.

“Anyone” is a very big group of people. And in any group of people, presently, you will find varying levels of maturity, woundedness, and issues. We are all being transformed – from glory to glory. Most of us need very deep healing because of trauma, wounds, and bad teaching.

To arbitrarily decide, “I don’t let just anybody pray for me” puts a label on people that encourages immaturity and promotes woundedness. Can you imagine going to minister to someone and they say, “You can’t pray for me. I only let certain people do that; you’re not on my list.” That person would be very wounded and hurt. Think of how you would feel! (Oh, but you’re mature and gifted and anointed, they’d be wrong to say that to you! Well, I bet the person you just rejected feels the same way about themselves…)

Not only that, but it makes you look like you feel that you’re a rock star and deserve special treatment. Just sayin’.

At the same time, to decide that “anyone” can minister to you is foolish. There are people out there who should not minister to anyone anywhere. I have personally been ministered to by a creepy guy who seemed to be stalking women during a conference. Fortunately for me (or, perhaps, for this guy), my pastor had caught on to what he was doing and came and joined in the prayer. (Sidebar: I love my pastor!) We know another woman who feels the need to do “spiritual warfare” during prayer – she karate chops “demons” (who by the way are not there) and makes retching noises and writhes on the floor. Um. No.

So what do you do?

I believe there’s a balance between… where you have the grace to allow someone who is immature and perhaps has a few issues to minister to you… and when someone who is TRULY off comes, you have the grace to minister to them.

I’ve had situations where I knew that the person praying for me had issues (with you name it – porn, divorce, money, divisiveness) and I’ve prayed, as they prayed, “Lord – I accept every good thing that you’d like to give me out of this prayer, and I reject any evil thing that satan would try to use out of this situation.” I release the Kingdom and I encourage the person to grow in the Lord. Often the situation turns into two-way ministry.

Why do I do that? Because along the way, some people have fathered me that way… saw me in my brokenness, heard from the Lord, and allowed and encouraged me to grow in Him.  Yes – even when I had issues with lust, greed, divisiveness, and was in danger of leaving my husband.  If I’d been rejected and told that I could not be a part of what God was doing until I was “perfect”, I wouldn’t have stayed put and done the hard work with the Lord and with these people that it took to become whole.

So what do you do in a situation where you just CAN’T let the person in front of you minister to you? Take a deep breath, smile, and say, “I really feel like I should minister to you.” Call someone else to help you pray (preferably your spouse). Ask the Lord for a word of knowledge that will bring freedom into their life. Don’t judge or condemn – release love and the Kingdom into them. You never know what He might do

So – there’s my thoughts on it. What do you think? How do you handle this situation?

PHOTO INFORMATION: The picture in this post was taken by me at the Prophetic Power & Glory Conference at New Day in 2011. If you’ve never been in a setting like that before and aren’t sure what’s going on, this is “body ministry” – where everyone is invited to pray for everyone else. I have received great freedom and healing from the Lord from this sort of ministry, but I’ve also encountered a few situations like what I have described in this post. For more pictures, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaysharpe and click on my albums, I have many pics of our church there. Or if you’re not sure what it’s all about, feel free to ask me either here on the blog or on Facebook.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth – where were you when I spoke and commanded the morning – where were you when I gave the sea its boundary and said no more – and said no more?

I think most people tend to read it as, “Who are you, little peon, to question The Great High and Mighty One? Who are you, little scumbag Job?”  Turn to Job 38 in your Bible… how do YOU read it?

Unfortunately, we tend to read the book of Job through our filters and lenses of hurt. If we’ve been taught that God can send satan to attack us if He likes, that He’s vengeful and angry, that He beats us up to make us better people, if there’s even a hint of the orphan spirit lurking within us, that’s how it will seem.

But the good news is that God is in a good mood.

Yesterday when we were singing this song at church my heart nearly leaped out of my chest in response…it was as though God Himself was asking me these questions and I was answering Him:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
I was in your dreams, Father! You dreamed such good dreams of me and for me!

Where were you when I spoke and commanded the morning?
Right there in Your book – you were journaling about me. Pages and pages, more than I can even number, telling of your plans and love for me!

Where were you when I gave the sea its boundary, and said no more?
I was being woven into Your plans for the world just like You wove the sea into those plans! They’re good plans, plans of hope and a future, plans of love and peace and purpose! 

How good it is to be a son of God!

Most people see the book of Job like a tag-team wrestling match: God and satan went and beat up poor ol’ Job. God used the devil to get Job good and pliable, and then He came Himself and pinned Job for the ten-count with His accusations, because Job just had to learn his place in the world.

The problems with that line of thinking are too numerous for the scope of today’s post (and may one day become a book), but I submit to you that God was not “accusing” Job at all. He certainly didn’t send satan after him! The “Prepare yourself like a man and I will question you and you shall answer Me” statement was not a challenge to a duel. God was saying, “Come now… let us reason together…who am I, Job? Who are you?”

He was reminding Job of the right answers to those two questions: Who is God, and who are you? Job had spent a long time dwelling upon the wrong answers. He’d lived in fear and had tried to stave off those fears by being very religious. This opened the door for satan to do all that he did. When Job repented and remembered God’s true identity, as well as his own, the door was effectively shut and God could move to restore what Job had lost.

In the end, Job said, “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, “Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?” Therefore I have uttered things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak: You said, “I will question you and you shall answer Me.” I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”(Job 41:1-6, NKJV)

And again, how you read that passage has a lot to do with how you relate to Father. Did Job hate, abhor, and despise himself? That word, “himself”, is not in the Hebrew. The translators of the KJV and related versions felt it was implied and so it was inserted. It’s simply not there in the original text.

Can I propose to you that Job was simply rejecting his own previous understanding of life and accepting God’s standard? The NASB says “Therefore I retract, and I repent…”

Job wasn’t hating himself at all. He was changing his mind. He was responding to the questions:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Where were you when I spoke and commanded the morning? Where were you when I gave the sea its boundary, and said no more?
Oh Father I’m sorry, I forgot but now I remember where I was when you did those things! I was in your dreams – and they were such wonderful dreams, so wonderful that for a little while I didn’t think it was possible that they could be about me! But now I realize that they were! I’d heard things about You that led me to act the way I did, but now I see you and realize that You are so much bigger and greater than I had imagined – and You are so good! Therefore I retract my previous understanding of You – I’ve changed my mind – I’m coming into alignment in my life with who You truly are!

Job laid down his orphan spirit and stepped into sonship…true sonship… and the challenge for us, even today is to do the same.

Will you retract and repent, and join Job and I?

But that was the testimony of Jesus when He was walking around on the earth… so, believer, why are you basing your standard of “only human” on the way Adam was after the fall? That was the first Adam.

Then came the second Adam, Jesus. He was “only human” who was filled by Holy Spirit; all the fullness of the godhead rested within Him. He was like us in every respect, and we can be like Him… we are humans… filled by Holy Spirit… the fullness of the godhead rests within us. (and if you’re reading this and that isn’t true for you, it can be! Message me and we’ll talk)

And by the way… the first Adam fell. The second Adam can’t. That means there is no “third Adam”… think about it.

So. Which Adam do you relate to… associate yourself with… pattern your life after…call your brother? Which Adam do you use to excuse your behavior?

Its best use is to see past the junk to identify and prophetically call forth the treasure that God has placed in a person. (There is treasure in each of us – and it’s the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out).

Often this results in a process beginning in which that treasure begins to manifest… which brings that junk (demons, hindrances, lies, hurts, wounds, etc) to the surface so that it can be pushed out of the way or shed (that’s the refiner’s fire!).

If we focus on demons and lies, it becomes about demons and lies. Therefore if discernment and deliverance are all about “identifying and dealing with junk”, we have focused wrongly… lost the plot… corrupted the gift. When we deal with a problem from a second-heaven perspective, we get a second-heaven answer to “need”.

But if we honor God and His creation, it remains about Him. People have inherent value… so why do we concern ourselves with that which has no value? Discernment and deliverance are righteousness, peace, and joy in Holy Spirit – they are the Kingdom of God being made manifest in the sons of God. It’s a third-heaven answer which supercedes the second-heaven problem with the compassion and power of God.

“Deliverance” is “Refinement”… it’s the process by which we are continually made more like Him. An artist who is painting spends time studying what they want to paint and gazing upon that object. They don’t look at something else and say, “I don’t want to paint *that*.” And so in our own lives, if we’re being transformed and helping others to be transformed, what are we spending our time gazing on? Trash or treasure? That which we focus on commands the greatest detail in the painting…

Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand…
(Yes… I am…will you join me?)

Please understand, as you read this, that I am a person who places a very high value on words. I do that partly because I’m a writer, and partly because Scripture declares the power of words. You may be tempted to react with, “that’s just semantics!” but I’m not sure I believe in semantics any more. Words should be carefully chosen because those subtle, semantical differences can be extreme (if you’ve hung out with me for any length of time you’ve probably heard me muttering about the words our culture uses synonymously but are really not – like perfection & excellence, respect & honor, and the latest is obedience & compliance)… But back to the question du jour:

Can I simply be, “I am”…?

When Holy Spirit first mentioned it, I realized that for me (and maybe for most people) it’s just not that simple. We’ve invented layers of “self” in an effort to protect ourselves. Often this was done with a valid motive when a child encountered trauma, abuse, or confusion. These layers served a purpose then – to protect – but what exactly are we protecting now, and from whom?

It’s funny, I was talking yesterday to a friend who is a pagan. I realized that many of the things that the pagan community lays claim to and says do not exist within Christianity  (like authenticity, transparency, community, deep love) are the very things that Holy Spirit is leading me (and other followers of Christ) into on this journey … true authenticity… real transparency… community in the context of covenant which is how deep love can happen. But (as usual) I digress…

Can I simply be, “I am”? Can you? Can anyone?

Yes. Why? Because Jesus said that He is “I am”¹ – and then He made us firstfruits ² and co-heirs with Him ³ – that means that as He is, we are ⁴. We walk in all that He is ⁵ and all that He has ⁶; we are the sons of God⁷. Paul echoed the same thing when he said, “I am what I am” (or “I am that I am”) ⁸⁹

In Christ, we ARE “I am.”

In my processing of all of that, Holy Spirit began to show me that I’ve spent most of my life avoiding being “I am” by being “I am not”.

Now there’s a realization… Came up and smacked me right between the eyes. I actually saw myself as a child, stomping my little foot and saying, “I am NOT!” I’m sure that in that moment, I was responding to something of small importance… “I am NOT crosseyed!” or whatever unkind word another child had called me. Same as any child might do.

But in me it became a vow – I am not! It’s been like a rebellious seed within. I’ve never really defined myself by who I am, but really, I’ve defined who I’m not. I realized this when Holy Spirit asked me, “what was at the root of your involvement in your former religion?” It took me a couple of hours of digging to realize that I’d gotten involved in witchcraft as a rebellion against what I thought was Christianity (a long story) – my entrance into witchcraft came because “I am NOT a Christian!”

When I finally did meet Jesus, years later, and realized that I had no idea what Christianity was, my testimony became, “I am not a witch!” (Hence, ExWitch was born…)

Defining yourself by what you’re not usually means that you are using the old sin nature to define yourself, rather than being defined in Christ. “I am not” leaves you in a perpetual struggle against the old man (who is dead, so quit practicing necromancy)…  “I am” is the ultimate personal expression of the finished work of the cross.

Even when we say things like, “I am not afraid” or “I am unashamed” or “unrestrained worship” we are declaring the current reality in our lives of fear, shame, and restraint. We are holding our lives and experiences up to entirely the wrong standard when we do that.

Remember, life and death are in the power of the tongue. Sometimes this can be quite subtle… “I am not afraid” means that there is a place for fear in your life and you refuse it. That can be a good first step for someone who’s lived in fear… but don’t camp out there. Good is such an enemy of best. We have to refuse to settle for “good” and press in to the best that God has for us! Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Who the Son makes free is unbound” – He said, “Who the Son makes free is free indeed. ¹⁰” The difference is subtle… yet profound… and makes me wonder how many are still living in the bondage – knowing that the webs are still there even though they are “unrestrained”…

I also realized in processing all of this with Holy Spirit that there is still a tendency in me to put things off for “later” that are really mine now. Any time we say, “I will be” we’re negating the right-now power of “I am”. Even if I say, “I’m going to live God’s dream for my life” there is a tendency to wait, to pull back, because it’s not fully realized yet. Semantics have power. How about “I am God’s dream” – yes there is a progressive element to that; the Kingdom itself is progressive – yet it’s fully here, fully now. Just as the Kingdom exists and expands in that mystery, so do we!

The progressive nature of man in the Kingdom is that first we go, then we do, and then we be. (Bad grammar – good word.) Holy Spirit told me a ways back, “Don’t get stuck in the doing and not go on to the being.”

We only get to live “I am” to the extent that we live in surrender, submitted and dependent upon Holy Spirit. The reason Jesus could say “I am” is because He lived fully surrendered, submitted, and dependent on God. So the question is, “How surrendered to and dependent upon Holy Spirit are you willing to live?”¹¹

Consider this … consider ALL that it means, ALL of the implications of it in terms of saying of yourself, “I am” :  because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹² How is Jesus? (Consider all that Ephesians, Hebrews and Revelation chapters 1, 21, and 22 say just for starters…) That is how YOU are – if you step into the fullness of “I am”.

——————————————————————-

Family,

Several of the members of Revival Alliance flew to Lakeland, Florida, in 2008 both to observe and bless what God was doing through Todd Bentley. He was taking a lot of hits from highly respected leaders pertaining to that outpouring. We went there to lend our support and possibly add our strengths to the movement. We have all been on the receiving end of similar accusations against what God was doing in our ministries and churches. Each of us had developed a friendship and an informal partnership with Todd over the years. We have had great respect for the gift and anointing upon his life.

Before the Lakeland Revival, I had not only worked with Todd in ministry but also met with him, along with some of the core staff from Fresh Fire Ministry, to help him in the broken areas of his marriage. He was advised to cut back on ministry and get help. He did as was requested.

Fast forward: I was assured that there was great improvement in the Bentley marriage. Todd started to travel again with great breakthrough anointing. Lakeland actually started fairly soon after his return to travel. The outpouring happened exactly as had been prophesied. Interestingly, after some time in the revival, the same prophet who had prophesied the revival also warned of its collapse if Todds personal issues weren’t addressed properly.

Within days of Revival Alliance’s time in Lakeland, Todd’s marriage imploded. Both prophetic words were true. We were all grieved for the effect it would have on people who had been touched by Todd’s ministry, especially the young people who looked to Todd as an example to follow. The consequences could be devastating. We grieved over the effect it would have on the Lakeland outpouring, itself, as well as outpourings in general. Our hearts go out to those who have given themselves to unselfishly serve the great work of God only to be let down by its leader. We grieved especially for Todd and his family, who would suffer from the choices that were made.

Immediate prayers were offered up for all of the above. Repentance would be needed. Deep repentance. The Revival Alliance team felt it best that I be the one to represent them because of my history with Todd and my involvement with the marriage issues.

My heart has always been for Todd the person, not the ministry. He’s a friend. Ministry is supposed to come out of who we are, not what we can do through our spiritual gifts. In the time that has passed since the initial breakup, I have never met with Todd wanting to get him back in the pulpit. I’ve only met with him and prayed for him to see him healthy, knowing the rest will take care of itself.

Rick has the experience in restoration and the “community” setting that would be good for Todd. He is a trusted friend, one of the few I know with the experience needed to work in such a high profile case. (There is such a temptation in high profile cases to make decisions according to how they appear to others, and not directly with the fallen person in mind. People who are moved by the opinions of others work to appease the media and/or the Christian critics instead of working to restore. Rick is more resistant to that temptation than anyone I know. It was and is a necessary trait if we want to see true restoration.)

Over the last three years, I have met with Todd on several occasions, as well as with Rick and Todd together. Rick and I have also talked privately, as he has worked hard to include me on critical issues. It’s not been a lot. But they have both worked to keep me in touch. But it needs to be clear Rick and his team are the spear point of this process.

Rick has worked with Todd over every accusation that has been brought up. He has mentioned to me on several occasions that Todd has responded very well to each situation. He has been extremely transparent and repentant over his issues. Necessary steps are always taken to make sure Todd is able to clean up his mess.

Rick called me a while back saying that he wanted to start to use Todd in ministry in a safe place. The safe place idea was for Todd’s sake. The perfect setting for this is, of course, Morningstar Ministry. This is where Rick could observe and monitor Todd’s progress, or, on the other hand, see areas that need attention. Rick has told me many times how encouraged he has been with Todd’s personal transformation as well as some positive changes in ministry.

The next step has been to release Todd to minister with trusted friends who could benefit from and help in the process of Todd’s restoration. This is in process right now, and the fruit has been good. I have now ministered with Todd in both settings, Morningstar and at a conference in Texas. It was good to see Todd in ministry again. He handled himself well and functioned under great anointing, and much more out of “rest.” The fruit of the ministry was very good.

I have been involved from day one, although at quite a distance, both geographically and in time spent. Whenever I’m with Todd, I talk to him about his family. It’s not that he needs reminding that that is an area that needs attention. It is in his heart. I just want to make sure that he is doing everything necessary to serve his family well in this very difficult situation. Todd has always responded well to my questions. I’ve been very happy with his sense of responsibility in that area.

One of the more important contacts in this process has been with Brent Borthwick. He is Shonnah’s pastor. Brent is a trusted personal friend of mine and represents Todd’s ex-wife and kids with compassion and wisdom. He has spent time with Todd since his move to Morningstar and has affirmed that from his point of view, Todd is doing well. He also told me he was pleased at how much at peace Todd seemed to be. Brent’s perspective is important to me, for obvious reasons. He was also able to verify that Todd has taken care of Shonnah and the kids financially in an honorable way and continues to do so.

I am pleased with Todd’s progress as a person, and now as a minister of the gospel. He is more at peace with himself than any time I’ve known him. Most of all, I am thrilled with the job Rick and the Morningstar team have done in serving Todd and trust Rick’s perspective. Todd needed a great leader to stand up with him and for him, but he also needed to fit into a community of believers that would be honest and confronting when needed. This has been provided for him.

How long should it take for someone who has fallen to be restored to ministry? I wish I knew. I had a more absolute answer to that question before I had much experience. After many years now of working with broken people, I no longer know have a set time in mind. Every situation is different. The advice I’ve heard has ranged from “he should never be in ministry again” to “immediately-once forgiven a person should get back to what they’re called to do.” I don’t like either of those answers.

Some have called for extreme punishment. It’s been said, “We must make an example out of Todd.” But if we’re honest, punishment isn’t really for the person who sinned. It is really to make the punisher feel better about the situation for which they have no control. As those who work with broken people we have responsibility for Todd and his family but also for the impact on the body of Christ. Whatever we do, it must be redemptive in nature for all of the above.

I don’t want to do anything that will cause young people to think they can intentionally sin, say they’re sorry, and go about life as though nothing happened. That is so far from reality. Sin has consequences that must not be ignored. (I don’t say this to imply that Todd has taken his sin or situation flippantly. I don’t believe that is true. It is just a possible message I don’t want to convey when we release a person back into ministry.) On the other hand, I also don’t want to miss the chance to demonstrate what the grace of God looks like. There are so many that are in Todd’s position that need to know that God forgives and restores. People need permission to truly live as though they are forgiven. That is the greater story.

In conclusion, I recommend Todd to you, believing that you will be blessed and encouraged by his ministry. But perhaps even more important is the fact that Todd will be a reminder to us that it is possible to stand after such a great fall. We all live by grace, and only by grace. We desperately need examples of those who have walked in integrity all of their lives. But when there is sin, we need examples of restoration to bring hope to the broken people, many of whom are in our congregations. God will use Todd to be a message of restoration.

Blessings!!

Bill Johnson

Bethel Church

Redding, California 96003

I ran across an opinion piece by Randy Alcorn this morning that I thought was well thought out and offers a good response, so I thought I would share that here.

I’m writing this while returning from ICRS, the annual Christian book convention. I’m sitting in the Atlanta airport, reflecting on some of my conversations the past four days. I did many interviews about recent and forthcoming books, and talked with lots of evangelical booksellers, publishers, and authors.

As usual, many of the conversations were very encouraging. And, also as usual, some of the conversations left me with a heavy heart.

One bestselling, high-impact evangelical author, who I know and like, asked me what I thought of Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. [continued: http://onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1396700]

He concludes with this question:

While it is healthy that there is a big tent of Bible-believing evangelicals who disagree in a variety of interpretations and practices, and while anyone is certainly free to depart from and deny an evangelical faith, is it reasonable to suggest that there is a point where if you no longer believe that the whole Bible is true, and you deny core truths evangelical Christians historically believed, it is misleading and even nonsensical to continue to call yourself an “evangelical Christian”? Or an “evangelical” pastor, university, ministry or publisher?

I would add another question, based on my growing dislike of and distaste for labels among those who follow Christ. Do we need the label “evangelical” any more? Is it essential to segregate the “authentic” “historic” “evangelical” church into one box, people like me into another box, the Rob Bells within the church into yet another box… all appropriately labeled so that people (especially those in the first box, it seems) stay nice and “safe”…?

I may be a heretic, but not of the sort that Bell is accused of being. Jesus is Lord, He’s the only way to the Father, and I do believe in a literal, eternal, heaven and hell.

I really want to understand where Bell is coming from, though. Why, reading the same Book that you and I do, did he arrive at the conclusion that hell may not be an eternal state of existence?

One of the reasons I found myself liking Rob Bell is because he asks the questions… and they are important questions, THE important questions, because they tend to come back to, “Who is God? Who are you?” … that foundation shapes not only our theology but our actions, ethics, and abilities. The answer to those question either limits and imprisons us, or it frees us to be who God called us to be.

But I was thinking about all of that in the middle of the night. A question that Bell asked in an interview with Warnock haunted me. He was talking about hell (which he DOES believe in) and eternity (it’s that, that he has a different take on), and saying basically (this is a paraphrase), “God would keep a person who sinned for a few short years in hell, with no opportunity to repent and come to Christ… what does that say about the nature of God?”

Who is God?

Something about that question bugged me. And still does. In the middle of the night, what echoed through my mind was, “Is it really about the nature of God? What does that say about the nature of death?”

Just some more to muse on. Scripture immediately comes flying to mind and I need to chew on it for a while.

I also read an interesting quote on a Bell supporter’s blog that led me to a well-written review of Love Wins by George P. Wood on Amazon. He disagrees with Bell but does it with a grace that is rarely seen. (Thank you George!)

Bell’s underlying premise is that because Heaven is a “now” sort of place, hell is too… and people create the hell they live in. By choosing anything but Jesus, they create all sorts of strife and that continues even after death. But this is redemptive, not punitive, in nature and as such, those in hell can choose Jesus at any time, leave hell, and occupy heaven.

Wood makes an excellent point – so excellent, in fact, that I’m going to simply copy the tail end of his review (but I’m going to split it into two paragraphs for emphasis):

For Bell, there does not seem to be a definitive turning point, a crisis moment where destinies are finalized. Hell, especially, is temporal and remedial. How long one spends there depends on how long one resists God’s love. “Hell is our refusal to trust God’s retelling of our story.” Bell draws attention to Revelation 21:25, which says of the New Jerusalem: “On no day will its gates ever be shut.” Then he writes: “That’s a small detail, and its’ important we don’t get too hung up on details and specific images because it’s possible to treat something so literally that it becomes less true in the process. But gates, gates are for keeping people in and keeping people out. If the gates are never shut, then people are free to come and go.” Bell sees this as an image of hope. Those who have chosen hell can choose heaven.

Logically, though, the image contains a note of despair, for what stops a person who has chosen heaven from choosing hell? Absent the precipitating event of Christ’s second coming and the final judgment, it seems to me that life as Rob Bell portrays it will always be an ongoing struggle between heaven and hell, with no guarantee of a final resolution.

And if that’s the case, in what sense does love actually win?