The Fine Line

There is a verse that the apostle Paul wrote, that has been greatly disturbing my spirit. But I have come to believe that he was simply writing from his point of grace - from where God permitted him to write about.

When I read 1 Corinthians 6, "Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God", I think, who doesn't fall into that category, at some point or another, if not chronically?

Paul was a zealot, meaning he was enthusiastic, didn't stray from his principles, and had black and white thinking. This passage has no room for forgiveness in it, and yet Jesus ate with sinners. In Paul's conviction for his faith, before converting to Christianity, he participated in the execution of people who deviated from doctrine (also known as heretics). After sorting through my own black and white thinking, I now understand this to be a trauma-based perception that requires deep healing and understanding.

Once becoming a Christian, the premise is that person has a supernatural compassion that has the ability to see past sin and error, just as Jesus did. With Paul's aptitude for grave judgement, I couldn't reconcile some of his teachings, but today I do believe that he was simply writing with the collective grace that was in the world at that time. This is an understanding that has come to me through my own sufferings and timeouts alone in meditation and contemplation. 

I no longer fear questioning the shortcomings of even the prophets. I view the main problem to be when we accept the Bible as inerrant, or 100% divinely inspired. It is in these moments when we lose our connection to each other, and therefore to God. 

I cannot fathom saying to a person whose loved one died in an active state of alcoholism, greed, or lust, that they are not in/going to heaven, nor could I believe in my heart that is possible, after losing someone who did pass in this state. It is now my conviction that anyone who advocates hell has simply never lived through the tragedy of overwhelming grief.

Perhaps 2,000 years ago people were truly vicious to each other, and to hold these principles was status quo, but again, the apostles were held to a higher standard of compassion and dignity. With each passing year we as a society become more lenient, open, and compassionate. I believe it's time for people within the conventional establishments to be sensitive to those whose viewpoints become affected by such destructive forms of delusion, instead of casting off these views/people as heretical, progressive, or non-believing. 

What I have come to understand after living out my conversion publicly, is that God reveals His truths in different ways to different people, oftentimes privately; and there is always invitation to be connected and imperfect, in the same space. It is only when we close the gates of heaven to each other, that we truly begin to fade from grace. 

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter in, either." - Matthew 23.13

Image by Thomas B. from Pixabay

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