The View from the West Mesa

Pentecost is not the birthday of the church. It is the blow the doors off, hitch up the horses, invasion of the world by the Spirit of God. Hang on for the ride.

Cain and Abel: .....God and other people The Law: .....God and other people The prophets: .....God and other people Jesus: .....God and other people NT letters: .....God and other people Got the idea? It's not all that hard. Really.

isn't as hard as some people seem to think it is. It doesn't require crawling on your knees. It doesn't require some great show of "Godly sorrow." It doesn't require "walking the aisle" and dumping your baggage on the front row. It is simply deciding to live the Life offered by God. It is simply turning your focus toward the interests of others, just as God's interest is on others. It is simply living the Life God would live if He were you.

Really. He does want you to live the Life He made you to live. What He wants is you - to bless you by offering you real Life. He doesn't really care about how many sins you have, how long you've had them, or even what they are. He knows He made you human, and you're not going to get every detail right. All He wants is for you to live in His direction - a Life that is giving, outward focused, concerned for others. Like Him. Like the Image you are. No, you don't have to do it perfectly; He knows you're not going to. After you blow it, all you have to do is get back on track. That's it.

...and offers you life with Him. That's the Gospel. When you decide that you want to take Him up on His offer, He'll let you. This Life is the one you are made to live. It isn't foreign, but rather is the fullest expression of you as the image of God. It takes some getting used to, it takes some effort in remembering to put others before you, it does feel odd. But it isn't. You needn't be worried about whether you're one of the Elect, you needn't worry about having to get everything right, you needn't worry about having to keep a bunch of rules once you've returned to Him. You will need to want to live the Life He offers, even if you don't live it perfectly. Believe it or not, it gets easier and easier the more you experience the Life of God.