JR. Forasteros - October 4, 2020
How to Be Kind
It feels harder and harder to disagree well. We hear frequent calls for civility and niceness. But for a people of faith, nice isn't enough. Rather than settle for a superficial niceness, God calls us to imitate Jesus in offering a deep kindness. Kindness insists we treat others as though they are part of our family. How do we pursue kindness together in the next month?
From Series: "How to Survive the Election"
The 2020 election is, somehow, the most divisive, painful election yet. The divisions revealed by the last four years are as bad inside the Church as anywhere else. How can we navigate this season? How can we not just survive, but thrive as God's people in the next month?
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
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What does it feel like when God is angry at you?
Off the cuff, you might wonder if hitting more red lights than usual is a sign of God’s wrath. But more seriously, when we hit hard times, it’s easy to feel like we made someone up there mad. When we get sick, or when we have one of those weeks, months or years when it’s one thing after another, we want to blame bad karma or say the universe is against us or question what we’ve done to make God mad at us.
It doesn’t help that, whenever tragedy strikes, there are plenty of pundits who want to make sure we know God’s to blame.
Every natural disaster, every national tragedy, you can find at least a few crazy Christians trying to explain how and why we’ve angered God so God threw a hurricane or tornado or airplane at us.
And in times of personal tragedy, that happens too. Well-meaning people put a gentle hand on our shoulder and ask if we are right with the Lord, implying that we’re probably not, and that’s why this is happening to us.
Is that what it looks like when God gets angry?
Well… no. Like all the best lies, this one has a grain of truth in it
But the idea that God is essentially Thor, throwing lightning bolts at those who cross him is just plain wrong. Understanding God like that makes us afraid, and it actually keeps us from responding correctly to God’s anger.
Let’s talk about what it looks like when God gets angry, and how we can respond to that anger. Because God’s anger – like every other aspect of God – arises from God’s love, a perfect love that casts out fear. And ultimately, God’s anger is about life and hope.
