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My heart breaks for fellow Christians who believe that God is so small that the message of infinite mercy, love and grace cannot possibly be true for all.
"Not really, right God? ... I mean, there must be somewhere special for us real, true believers? And somewhere for all those other people?"
On a recent Sunday afternoon, two young ladies appeared on our doorstep, religious tracts in hand. Come to share the "Good News" about Jesus and salvation for the chosen ones. ... The ones deemed worthy by their particular brand of Christianity, of course.
Upon learning that I was a pastor, one of the young ladies became quite inquisitive. "If you encountered a stranger who did not know God, what would you tell them?" she inquired.
"I would tell them that God loves them," I answered.
"That's it?" she retorted indignantly. "What about making sure that they don't go to hell?"
"Well, actually, I'm not sure that I buy the concept of hell," I offered.
This agitated her even more, and she insisted that I re-read the Bible so that I understood it in her limited reading.
I suppose the conversation ended up not being very productive for the young lady. My wife and I were heading out, and so she reluctantly left my driveway even though she was fixated on changing my mind.
I try hard not to trounce people's personal theology as it is such a messy landscape. We all form our understanding of who God is because of so many factors. And I believe that maybe the God I have created in my own head isn't the same as your God. ... After all, who is right?
I mean, if you claim to know the "Truth" ... well, my friend, you're wiser than I am. Because in my half century of life, I'm most certain of only two things.
One is that it's the people who are 100 percent of anything you should be leary of. History has demonstrated that they can be dangerous.
And two, Jesus supersedes all 600-plus commandments in the Bible with one "Greatest Commandment" that teaches us there are only two that matter: Love God and love people.
That's it! ... Thankfully, Christ makes theology pretty simple!
One of my favorite theologians, Father Richard Rohr recently wrote: "Just because you use Scripture, even in a God-affirming way, does not mean you are using Scripture for life and love, growth and wisdom -- and for the sake of God or others."
Lest you worry about my soul, I'm well aware there will come a time when I'll definitively know the answer to my questions about hell, the existential kind anyway.
But for right now I am well aware that there are billions of marginalized and voiceless people in the
world who live through hell right here on earth every single day.
And so I have to wonder why God would continue to punish them in the hereafter. Amen.
Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.