The Great Rescue

What has your experience with the church been like? Speaking from my own experience, much of what I heard coming from the pulpit has been, of sorts, in the form of negative persuasion. For example, I often heard: "You are a sinner and have rebelled against God. Therefore, you must turn from your selfish ways and acknowledge your sin to God, to prevent spending eternity in hell". While I won't argue about the technical accuracy from a theological standpoint, I always struggled with some aspects that seemed inherent in that statement. First of all, "rebelled" is such a proactive term, and I didn't feel like I was in active rebellion against God. Sure, I knew I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't exactly shaking my fist at God in anger either. Second, it painted a picture of a God who was angry with me and who seemed harsh and demanding. It seemed like he wanted me to cry "uncle" and then, apparently, to start towing the line by walking a straight and narrow (straight-laced?) life. The part about hell sounded threatening, which made God seem all the more harsh. The truth was that while I didn't want to go to hell when I died, the idea of being a Christian didn't sound like that much fun either. For example, it seemed like God's condemnation of sin was a condemnation of anything that was fun. Somehow I interpreted the condemnation of "selfish desires" as a condemnation of any desire even if it was good. Billy Joel had a song back in the 70's that said "I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners are much more fun". Although I didn't like the overall message of that song, it seemed like there was some truth to that line, at least in what I could see in the church. It seemed like if I wanted to go to heaven, I would have to live a rigid, almost joyless life...a kind of self-imposed moral straight jacket.

But mine was a narrow and incomplete view of the Gospel. Sadly, it veiled so much of what is beautiful and stunning about the true nature of God. So what would a positive persuasion presentation of the Gospel be like?

I am no theologian, but I invite you to try a visualization experiment (no, it does not use the scientific method!). If you will, find a quiet place, still your thoughts, and allow your mind to release any negative, harsh preconceptions about God, or any oppressive religious dogma you may have heard. If you don't believe in God, allow yourself for just a moment to imagine there is a God as I briefly describe him here (although my description is woefully inadequate...a whole book has been written about him that describes him much better...the Bible). First, consider that out of nowhere and out of nothing, he chose to make you (1). That seems like a good thing, right? Then try to imagine what pure love would feel like, love that is directed towards YOU, that comes to you and and is totally unconditional...it doesn't matter what you have or have not done (2). Imagining that kind of love may seem difficult, but it seems worthwhile to try. Pure, radiant light that pierces the darkness (3). A sense that you are surrounded by tender compassion that gently heals your wounds and the hurt and broken places inside you (4, 5), like a mother who calms her child when they hurt (6). A God who is totally good (7), who is brimming with unlimited power and able to fight to protect you (8). One whom you can trust completely, who knows everything about you and who is closer to you than your own thoughts! (9) A marvelous Creator who made a whole world for you for adventure, to explore in wonder and delight...and who delights in seeing you so filled with wonder and delight (10, 11). That is a glimpse of what God is really like, and what you were made for.

But Christianity also teaches that something has gone wrong in our world. C.S. Lewis, prominent scholar and academic of the 20th century, wrote in his book Mere Christianity: "One of the things that surprised me when I first read the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about a Dark Power in the universe - a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power behind death and disease, and sin...Christianity thinks that this Dark Power was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong." Later in the same chapter, entitled The Invasion, Lewis continued: "Enemy-occupied territory - that is what the world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king [Jesus] has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage." Before you dismiss me (Dale) as crazy, and lest you miss the point of this particular blog post, please bear with me a little longer; all of these things above are clearly described in the Scriptures (my statements within the text here are linked to them and referenced at the bottom of this post - perhaps you thought the Bible was boring?!). The Scriptures teach that this dark power viciously expends its efforts to steal and destroy all the good things from you that were described above (and then some) (12, 13).

The Great Rescue is the incredible story of the One who made you, coming for you, to rescue you from this evil Dark Power. God isn't standing in heaven with his hands on his hips, tapping his gigantic foot, and ready to throw anybody into hell who doesn't soon give in to his demands. He intervened in a world in which humanity had also gone wrong, way back at the dawn of time, and were left hopelessly under the dominion of this Dark Power; that is the state of the world into which we were born. By coming for us, he has rekindled the thrill of hope of restoration into His Kingdom. Jesus said that he came into the world not to condemn it, for it was condemned already. Rather, he came into the world to save and restore it (14). And the bottom line is that any of us can be rescued. We just have to want it enough to ask God for it (15). To acknowledge that we need rescued, that something is desperately wrong in our lives and we want it to be right again. That is where the "acknowledge your sin" comes from, mentioned earlier in this post. But repentance isn't simply crying "uncle" to God. Rather it is a beautiful act that allows God to forgive you and, in his eyes, erase all the accusations against you from shame, guilt, lies, harm you have done to others, etc. (16) Only then can the process of healing and restoration begin, and it is a process - an exciting process. He breaks the hold the Dark Power has had over you and sets you free to live a life with him (17). But God also honors our individual wills enough not to impose himself into our lives. He only comes if we ask (18).

If all of this sounds far fetched, keep in mind that millions of people throughout history have believed it, and many believed it enough that they felt it was worth dying for (starting with Jesus Christ). There is something powerful about this message. I encourage you to look into it. You don't have much to lose, and absolutely everything to gain!

Note: Since I am a scientist, I felt it was necessary to back up my descriptions above with citations to the original source. The links in the text above to biblegateway.com go to the following verses:  (1) Ephesians 1:4;  (2) 1 John 4:7-18; (3) John 8:12; (4) Psalm 86:15; (5) Psalm 34:18; (6) Psalm 131:2; (7) Psalm 100:5; (8) Exodus 15:3-13; (9) Psalm 139:1-18; (10) Genesis 1:27-31; (11) Zephaniah 3:17; (12) John 8:44; (13) John 10:10; (14) John 3:17-18; (15) Romans 10:13; (16) Romans 8:1; (17) Colossians 1:13; (18) Revelation 3:20