“No Judgement”

H,

It is hard to keep hold of that great idea of God called “grace”. We have tried to water it down, to tie it to conditions and to make it answer to our flawed and fallen sense of justice. We want to earn the eternal life we know we cannot create. We want to be soldiers rather than children of the most high. We want judgment for others and reward for ourselves.

I think there is more hate behind the hesitation for ideas like “salvation for all” and “hell is not forever” than love. We are told that God “wants no one to perish” and we hate the idea that we would “deny ourselves of sin” and be on the same level with perpetual sinners. That we are all the latter is the argument for another day. The acts and not the heart is where our obsessions lie. We have earned this grace that everyone else denies. It is a zero-sum game. The others must earn their derision.

Yet, it is not a game. The hound of heaven is calling every heart. He will rejoice over every soul. He will keep the lights on till the end of all ages. He leaves the 99 for the 1. He is love and those who do not love, have no part in Him. They must learn. We must learn. There is no judgement above love. There is no plan above love. There is no idea beyond love. All things will bow to love in the end. The other son learnt that in the story of the prodigal son. He thought the lost one was the forgotten. He was wrong. God intends to shake the foundations of the earth so all can see the glory. Let us not be on the other side of the fence, cursing under our breath, while He lets everyone in.