"Love Wins" ch. 4

"Love Wins"...unless you are Rob Bell. Ever since the release of his new book, Rob Bell has seen praise from the New York Times and backlash from the evangelical church. It seems there has been no end to the opinions expressed by those that have not even read the book. So, in an effort to find out if "Love Wins" for me, I have bought a copy and will be blogging my reflections through it as I read. My hope is that I will be affirmed, edified and enlightened in the truth of the Gospel message, but if not, then the $24 I spent on the brand new hard cover edition can just be my early birthday present for Rob...

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Chapter 4


Does God get what God wants?


I came into this chapter having great expectations. Bell has used the first few chapters to ask questions and set some foundations about heaven and hell, but now I expect to start getting some answers. Reading this book has been like watching LOST, I constantly find myself asking questions and pondering outcomes. What this chapter revealed in my heart is that I am treating Rob Bell like Simon treated Jesus in Luke 7:36-50. Instead of simply setting my heart to receive, I am building a wall to in order to accept or reject his viewpoint. (Before someone flies off the handle, I am not likening Bell to Jesus, only my heart to the Pharisee's.)

This chapter shattered that wall. This chapter isn't about what Bell believes; it's about what I believe.

Does God get what God wants?

There are a couple of viewpoints Bell shares that attempt to answer this question. One, that most Christians are familiar with, argues that all we have is this life to make the decision to follow Jesus. Bell's critique is valid, as he questions whether it is loving to only have this life to decide our eternity, then an eternity of punishment should we chose wrong (of course, if it is true, then Bell's critique of love is flawed).

Another viewpoint argues that we have the "image of God" inside us and we are responsible for cultivating that image. If we allow that image to evolve in us then it is conceivable that it will evolve us into a better, "posthuman", version of ourselves. This idea carries with it the concept that even after death, people can still choose to follow Jesus. It is the restoring or reconciling of all things discussed in Matthew 19 and Acts 3. Bell cites Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Eusebius as Church Fathers who espoused this idea. Bell summarizes their thought process this way:


At the center of Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins and all will be reconciled to God.


I hear critics argue that Bell agrees with this doctrine, but he never overtly states he believes it. I believe he expounds on this concept simply because it is a perspective not common in the modern church and because some would discount it as heresy without processing and engaging the scriptures for truth. I am not espousing this idea, however I am willing to admit that I have no empirical, experiential data to firmly proclaim that I know what happens after death. Bell's thought process helps remind me that, though I am called to represent Jesus to people, I am not all-knowing...which is a good thing!

Bell also discusses how the Book of Revelation describes the city of God as having gates that "never shut". A question I pose from that passage, however, is how does this argument factor in the Book of Life, which is also mentioned? Is it a static document and once your name is in, you are solid? Or is it an active document with names being added, even after death? Again, the only sure thing from scripture is that your name has to be in it. Which forces the questions: how does one go about having one's name written in the Book of Life? (cricket...cricket...)

But here is the most provocative portion of the chapter. Bell describes the life of God as almost irresistible. I say almost because he poses this question:


How could someone choose another way with a universe of love and joy and peace right in front of them-all of it theirs if they would simply leave behind the old ways and receive the new life of the new city of the new world?

The answer to how is "Yes".

Then he highlights the tragedies we witness daily: people selling themselves short for the temporary pleasures of this world -- incidentally, pleasures that have a knack for becoming permanent nightmares.

This is the reason we need a savior. This is the reason why I feel for people in their struggles and why I have grace for myself in mine. We somehow, time and again, say NO to the life God offers. Bell would argue this is because we have a flawed understanding of the life God has for us (but that comes later in the book). Regardless of the reason, we too often deny the free gift of life God offers, which brings us to Bell's climax:

It's not "Does God get what God wants?" 
but 
"Do we get what we want?"


I watch the show Intervention. Every episode is dedicated to this very idea. People want drugs, or purging, or sex, or alcohol, or whatever their hook may be. They have given themselves to it, and they feel good, but only until the chemical response fades. Sin operates the same way. It sells us short: Adam and Eve with the apple--when they could have kept eternal life, Esau with his birthright--he could have been Israel, and us with whatever has deceived us into a path other than God's best for us.

Yes. Sadly, for some of us, the answer is yes..we get what we want.

Today, let's reflect on what we are getting. Realize that God loves us enough to let us fall short of the life he promises, but he loves us enough to pursue us and empower us to embrace the gift of life he offers!

"Love Wins" ch. 3

"Love Wins"...unless you are Rob Bell. Ever since the release of his new book, Rob Bell has seen praise from the New York Times and backlash from the evangelical church. It seems there has been no end to the opinions expressed by those that have not even read the book. So, in an effort to find out if "Love Wins" for me, I have bought a copy and will be blogging my reflections through it as I read. My hope is that I will be affirmed, edified and enlightened in the truth of the Gospel message, but if not, then the $24 I spent on the brand new hard cover edition can just be my early birthday present for Rob...

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Chapter 3

Hell on earth. Bell describes it as a state of suffering caused by abandoning the truths and boundaries of God.

People live in it every day. Many don't recognize it, but we all feel it. It causes me to ask, what am I doing to destroy it?

That's the conviction I walk away with from this chapter...

Bell begins with a thorough discussion of Sheol, Gehenna, Tartarus, and Hades in order to attack the inherited, distorted, societal definition of hell - trashing the pitchfork, red tights, and all!

            Sheol is an Old Testament Hebrew word for the place of the dead. Whether righteous or  
            wicked, all people went there. Learn more here.

            Gehenna is a New Testament Greek word that Jesus used to describe hell. A burning pile of
            garbage outside of Jerusalem, Gehenna commonly housed stray dogs that could be heard gnashing
            their teeth as they fought over scraps. Trash. Scraps of refuse. Stray dogs. This was no place meant
            for people.

            Tartarus was a word used in Greek mythology to describe the dark, murky, underworld very similar
            to Sheol. Peter uses this word in 2 Peter 2 to describe hell.


            Hades was used in Greek mythology to describe the place of the dead. Like Sheol, it is the place
            where all the dead exist. It was also the Greek god of the underworld. Learn more here.

What's striking about each of these definitions is the absence of our societal definitions of hell: no punishments, no demons poking and prodding, no screaming...just darkness, murkiness, and death. Also, these places, particularly Sheol, contain all the dead, whether righteous or unrighteous. Jesus' use of the word Hades, and Peter's use of Tartarus all reveal that the best word for hell is whatever word works for that culture, regardless of context.

Bell goes on to describe hell as a literal place after we pass on, but also a present reality. He provides several blunt examples to wake up the reader: genocide, mutilation, wrath, and molestation.

He devotes time to the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The great tragedy of the rich man is that even in death, he wants Lazarus to serve him. In fact, the rich man is the slave; bound to a fallen mindset, while Lazarus is free at Abraham's side.

Bell reflects, [The rich man] is alive in death, but in profound torment, because he's living with the realities of not properly dying the kind of death that actually leads a person into the only life that's worth living.


Reflect on that. People are alive in hell, not being tormented by demons, but being tormented by the life they should have lived.

Bell describes our time on earth as being a purging and refining we experience. Trials, challenges, and corrections are all designed to make us more like Jesus. Even this idea of being "handed...over to Satan" is an example of this process.

Bell places believers into two camps: Often the people most concerned about others going to hell when they die seem less concerned with the hells on earth right now, while the people most concerned with the hells right now seem the least concerned about hell after death.

Which one am I?

Which one are you?

"Love Wins" ch. 2

"Love Wins"...unless you are Rob Bell. Ever since the release of his new book, Rob Bell has seen praise from the New York Times and backlash from the evangelical church. It seems there has been no end to the opinions expressed by those that have not even read the book. So, in an effort to find out if "Love Wins" for me, I have bought a copy and will be blogging my reflections through it as I read. My hope is that I will be affirmed, edified and enlightened in the truth of the Gospel message, but if not, then the $24 I spent on the brand new hard cover edition can just be my early birthday present for Rob...

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Chapter 2

This chapter originated from a teaching at Mars Hill Church several years ago called When Heaven and Earth Collide. Bell's premise in that teaching series is the same as in this chapter: When Jesus returns, He's bringing heaven with him.

One point Bell underscores reminds me of a concept my Pastor teaches: the idea that eternal life is something we experience now, not just after we die. My Pastor, Fred Michaux, says that "Eternal life is not just measured on the time continuum, but on the depth continuum." Eternal life is not something simply to measure, but to experience. Bell reflects this idea in his discussion of the Greek word aion.

Aion is a period of time having a clear beginning and end. Bell argues that we will live in two aions, this life, and the next. According to Bell, another meaning of aion is transcending time, belonging to another realm all together.

It is boundless.

God is not affected by time. He has no beginning or end; He exists eternally. What Bell suggests is that aion shifts into an eternal realm, not bound by time, but by experience...experiencing God! I love this idea! It masterfully grasps the physical shift we experience as we return to the state we were in before the Fall of Adam and Eve. We will again walk with God in the garden.

This brings me to Bell's next point: Heaven is not some faraway mystical place. When Jesus returns, heaven will come with him to earth.

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary states:

"It is interesting that the imaging of eternity has humankind on a restored earth, not in God's heavenly realm. This is certainly the eternal state and not a millennial scene. The sea is gone from Revelation 21 but not from other millennial images. Human history climaxes where it all began: on the earth."

I love this idea. Just as God redeems people, so he redeems the planet we have corrupted through sin and negligent stewardship.

Bell also discusses the story in Matthew 19 about the rich man who comes to Jesus asking about eternal life. I love how Jesus' rebuke is nestled in what he didn't say. Jesus rattles off the commandments to the man as the means of entering heaven, but omits the very sin that the rich man struggles with: covetousness.

Indirectly, Bell suggests that what keeps us bound in sin and apart from eternal life now, will prevent us from being free to experience eternal life in heaven then.

Baker's says:


"Those claiming a heavenly inheritance are required to bring the earthly and the heavenly into alignment. Jesus linked entrance into the kingdom of heaven to repentance ( Matt 4:17 ), humility (5:3 ; 18:1-4 ), witness ( Matthew 5:10 Matthew 5:16 ; 10:32 ; 16:19 ), obedience ( 5:19 ), righteousness ( 5:20 ), compassion ( Matthew 18:10 Matthew 18:14 ; 23:13 ) and stewardship (19:23 ). Proactively, believers store up treasures ( 6:20 ) by being prudent managers of the little and perishable on earth in order to insure the abundant and enduring in heaven ( Luke 16:1-13 ). Either the earthly or heavenly value system will prevail. So, those who pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" ( Matt 6:10 ) are obliged to live from a heavenly vantage point."


I think Baker, in this quote, echoes what Bell is introducing. It is not the words we pray, but the life we live before God that determines our place in the life to come. The sins we neglect to deal with now will be all we can see then...in the life to come.

I want to live the way Jesus calls me to live because I know it's a better life, and I know that what I am afraid to reveal now will be shouted from the rooftops then...in the life to come.

Bell closes:

How would I summarize all that Jesus teaches [about heaven]?


There's heaven now, somewhere else.
There's heaven here sometime else.
And then there's Jesus's invitation to heaven
here
and
now,
in this moment,
in this place.

Let's live this! Let's bring heaven to earth by modeling Jesus' example, so that when heaven arrives, we're ready.

"Love Wins" ch. 1

"Love Wins"...unless you are Rob Bell. Ever since the release of his new book, Rob Bell has seen praise from the New York Times and backlash from the evangelical church. It seems there has been no end to the opinions expressed by those that have not even read the book. So, in an effort to find out if "Love Wins" for me, I have bought a copy and will be blogging my reflections through it as I read. My hope is that I will be affirmed, edified and enlightened in the truth of the Gospel message, but if not, then the $24 I spent on the brand new hard cover edition can just be my early birthday present for Rob...

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Chapter 1
Bell begins by doing what he does best...asking questions. His purpose in this chapter appears to be to challenge people. I found myself asking these questions while reading:

Do I really understand what I claim to believe?


Is what I believe built on Scripture...or on the traditions of men?

Bell's goal always comes down to attacking the comfortable, inherited, rote doctrines of our various church cultures - much the way Jesus attacked the Pharisees doctrine and practice.

He starts off by talking about Gandhi in the context of a Church sponsored event. That's enough for some people in the church to stop reading right there! The words pluralism, humanism, and compromise can start running through the head of the most devout church-goers, but Bell's point is clear:

How do you know Gandhi went to Hell?

Were you there? Did you see him at the point of death? Did you read the Lamb's book of life to see if he was on the list?

I know I didn't.

This is a point he reiterates later with the story of a young girl at a friend's funeral. She was asked by a Christian if the boy who died in a car accident was a Christian. She replied that he was an atheist. His reply: "So there's no hope then."

Do you know he's in Hell? Were you there with him to learn his eternal fate? Did God give you some insider information? Is our main purpose as Christians to cast spurious judgments on people? Did Jesus call the church to be the accusers of sin? As I recall, that was someone else's title...and I don't want it...

By my reading, Bell also takes some jabs at Calvinism (the few, chosen), Arminianism (age of accountability), and even raises questions about the idea of a "personal relationship" as being a standard of salvation - I am particularly interested to see where this argument goes. He also seems to suggest that there is a process of knowing Jesus that is gradual. He is not tied to the "sinner's prayer", baptism, or any point of salvation. I am very interested to hear his viewpoints on this idea. Bell reveals in the Gospels that the only ones who knew Jesus' identity and purpose right from their first interaction with him...were demons (cf. Luke 4, Matthew 8 & Mark 1...here, actually).

Regular people needed time. Pharisees needed questions. Disciples needed to process. Demons came right out with Jesus' identity.

Fascinating.

The title of this chapter, What about a flat tire? asks what is the role Christians play in leading others to salvation.

Bell states, If our salvation, our future, our destiny is dependent on others bringing the message to us, teaching us, showing us--what happens if they don't do their part?


What if the missionary gets a flat tire?

It's the question I have heard before restated: What about the tribe nestled away in the deepest jungle of the Amazon that will never hear the Gospel? 


Great question! I anxiously anticipate Bell's response.

The second chapter will focus on Heaven...I hope I get to go!

"Love Wins" preface

"Love Wins"...unless you are Rob Bell. Ever since the release of his new book, Rob Bell has seen praise from the New York Times and backlash from the evangelical church. It seems there has been no end to the opinions expressed by those that have not even read the book. So, in an effort to find out if "Love Wins" for me, I have bought a copy and will be blogging my reflections through it as I read. My hope is that I will be affirmed, edified and enlightened in the truth of the Gospel message, but if not, then the $24 I spent on the brand new hard cover edition can just be my early birthday present for Rob...
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Preface
I have read two of Bell's fledgling works Velvet Elvis and Sex God. Both books struck me as bold and catalytic. I gather from reading this preface that Bell's aim in Love Wins continues to be just that. He says:

I've written this book for all those, everywhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, "I would never be a part of that."

So, he desires to connect with those outside the church; particularly those who feel alienated by the church in some fashion?

Cool.

He also wants to open up discourse around noteworthy topics in Christianity; in this case: Heaven, Hell & Eternal Security:

I've written this book because the kind of faith Jesus invites us into doesn't skirt the big questions about topics like God and Jesus and salvation and judgment and heaven and hell, but it takes us deep into the heart of them.

Besides overusing the word "and", Bell is actually presenting a strong point: it is necessary to ask tough questions and demand truth in its purest form. I respect this. I also respect his assertion that nothing he poses in this book differs from what he has preached in the past. (Perhaps this is a gentle aside to all the aspiring "haters" who didn't have an issue with Bell before the book was published?)

Regardless of what people are saying, thinking, or even blogging, Bell is glad to get people talking about these subjects.

Cool.

So far, I am excited to hear what will come next...

"MUCH" pt. 1

People will go to ridiculous lengths to get what they want from life. I found some great examples of this on MSNBC.com's "Weird News" webpage.

This first article talked about two prison guards fighting, while on the clock. The scuffle escalated so quickly that an inmate jumped in to break it up. It turns out the incident started over a bag of chips! "Inmate Separates Guards Fighting Over Food". 1.

This next, perplexing article is only one sentence, which I have quoted below:

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Police arrested a 41-year-old man last week after he called 911 and told officers that he was not given the correct change after buying crack cocaine from a drug dealer. 2 (Was anyone else reminded of a Chapelle show skit?)

The most curious article had to be "Man Gets Probation for Mailing Cow Head to Wife's Lover" 3. A man became so upset about his wife's infidelity that he haggled for a cow's head from a butcher shop, froze it intact, and mailed it to his wife's lover. (Classy, right?)

The lengths these people went to seem, well...weird, but we "everyday people" have our own methods of coping with life's adversaties: smoking, over-drinking, over-eating, cutting, abusing over-the-counter medications, lying, lusting, over-working, over-gaming, cheating, etc. Due to our fast-paced, knowledge-based economy, we, as Americans, feel the pull to win at life. Unfortunately, in many cases, the desire pulls us too hard, too fast, and we lose our grip on who God has called us to be.

People will go to ridiculous lengths to get what they want from life: sanity, success, peace, or justice (even if it means fighting over chips, accusing a drug dealer of pety theft, or avenging a wrong with a decapitated cow head). But when I think about the things people get worked up over, I have to ask myself why? What are we really fighting for? Are the everyday battles we face potentially worth being cast in the same light as the people mentioned above? Their legacy will be immortalized in typed print; their foibles branding them; their true value masked by public impropriety. But what about us? For us our legacy could be that list, but it could also cost us our friendships, our family, and even our lives.

God has called us to something more, MUCH more.

So today, let's take an inventory. Let's look how at how we choose to cope with life's challenges, and remember: God values who you are, what you struggle with, and how you deal with your adversaties. Commit to trust Him more than the knee-jerk responses of our culture. As King Solomon once said, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6.