The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection GPS Guide for Thursday, 28 January 2021

 The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection GPS Guide for Thursday, 28 January 2021

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection <info@mc.cor.org>

Thursday, 28 January 2021

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection GPS Guide for Thursday, 28 January 2021

A final end, not ongoing torture

Daily Scripture:

Romans 6:23

23 The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 18:7-8

7 To the extent that she glorified herself and indulged her loose and extravagant ways, give her pain and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit like a queen! I’m not a widow. I’ll never see grief.’ 8 This is why her plagues will come in a single day—deadly disease, grief, and hunger. She will be consumed by fire because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.

Reflection Questions:

The aspect of “hell” that makes it hardest for some people to believe in God is the idea that a loving God would supernaturally keep humans alive for all eternity just to torture them. And that idea owes more to Greek philosophy than to Biblical teaching when we take it as a whole. To the Romans, the apostle Paul was quite clear: humans do not have “eternal life” on our own. It is a gift from God, and the result of refusing that gift is death rather than eternal torture.

Paul’s great life mission, and his focus in Romans, was to preach God’s saving love and grace. As scholar William Barclay wrote, “The Christian gospel does not in the first place offer men an intellectual creed or a moral code; it offers them life, the very life of God.”* In what ways have you experienced God’s gift of a hope-filled quality of life as you have chosen to follow Jesus?

Revelation, chapter 18 said the wicked Roman Empire’s judgment came “in a single day,” and she was “consumed.” Pastor Hamilton wrote that “the…real point of Revelation… is not aimed at telling us when the end will happen. It is aimed at telling us that in the end, none of these [human] gods will be left standing, and that Christians are called to give our hearts and our allegiance only to one God, who is worthy of our praise.”** How do Revelation’s images suggest that the result of God’s judgment, but not necessarily the process, is eternal?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, remind me that your great heart of love reaches out yearningly, persistently for me and all my human brothers and sisters. Keep me focused on your gift of eternal life. Amen.

* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, pp. 228.

** Hamilton, Adam. Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today (p. 290). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Want more reflection on today's GPS?

Read the GPS Insight by Lindsey Arnold Seevers

A final end, not ongoing torture

Lindsey Arnold Seevers

Lindsey is part of the Missions team at Church of the Resurrection. She is working on her M.Div. at Claremont School of Theology. Her favorite Bible story comes from John 21, because she will never turn down a brunch invite… especially not from Jesus.

a blessing for the end of the world as we know it

on the day when our human-made gods

become like clay vessels, shattered on the floor

with the full fragility of their human nature

on display in the jagged pieces

our misplaced trust in their power to save us

painfully revealed

blessed are you as begin to mop up the mess

on the day when our hunger for power

overpowers us

when the anger burns in our bellies

consuming us from the inside out

and no amount of feasting on self-righteousness

satisfies

blessed are you as you begin to eat the bread of heaven instead

on the day when we hear a parable

and it hits just a little too close to home -

about the abundance of resources we were given

you know, the ones we buried in the ground

“just in case,” “for a rainy day,”

or simply because we were afraid

blessed are you as you search for your shovel and start to dig

on the day we find ourselves convinced of our own

un-loveable-ness

the day we lock the doors from the inside

and give in to the worst parts of being human

God of mercy, compassion, and love

grant us the courage of the thief on the cross

the boldness of the dinner-party-interrupting sinner

as we ask for your grace and forgiveness

and lead us out of this hell of our own making

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If you have a question or comment about today’s GPS or Insights blog, you can send it to GPS@cor.org. We read them all, but because of the number of responses we receive, cannot guarantee replies.

You might also like:

A pointed parable—about how to live now

The God of “faithful love” doesn’t want anyone to perish

Our choices separate us from God

Prayer Tip: The Love of God and the Logic of Hell

The Bible’s central message: Jesus

Or download this week's printable GPS.

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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.

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