It's Absolutely Crucial That We Come Face

So This Is Reality, This Forgiveness, This Reconciliation, Is True For Everybody. Paul Insisted That When Jesus Died On The Cross, He Was Reconciling "all Things, In Heaven And On Earth, To God." All Things, Everywhere. ...this Reality Then Isn't Something We Make Come True About Ourselves By Doing Something. It Is Already True. Our Choice Is To Live In This New Reality Or Cling To A Reality Of Our Own Making.

I Would Say That The Powerful, Revolutionary Thing About Jesus' Message Is That He Says, 'what Do You Do With The People That Aren't Like You? What Do You Do With The Other? What Do You Do With The Person That's Hardest To Love?' . . . That's The Measure Of A Good Religion, Is - You Can Love The People Who Are Just Like You; That's Kind Of Easy. So What Jesus Does Is Takes The Question And Talks About Fruit. He's Interested In What You Actually Produce. And That's A Different Discussion. How Do We Love The People In The World That Are Least Like Us?

If The Gospel Isn't Good News For Everybody, Then It Isn't Good News For Anybody. And This Is Because The Most Powerful Things Happen When The Church Surrenders Its Desire To Convert People And Convince Them To Join. It Is When The Church Gives Itself Away In Radical Acts Of Service And Compassion, Expecting Nothing In Return, That The Way Of Jesus Is Most Vividly Put On Display.

Sociologically, Large Groups Of People Don't Generally Have Massive Changes In Their Belief Instantaneously.

Our Tendency In The Midst Of Suffering Is To Turn On God. To Get Angry And Bitter And Shake Our Fist At The Sky And Say, "god, You Don't Know What It's Like! You Don't Understand! You Have No Idea What I'm Going Through. You Don't Have A Clue How Much This Hurts." The Cross Is God's Way Of Taking Away All Of Our Accusations, Excuses, And Arguments. The Cross Is God Taking On Flesh And Blood And Saying, "me Too.