“God did not send the Son into the world to condemn it” but apparently
the church didn’t get the memo. We've copyrighted the Son and condemn anyone
who does not buy into the franchise. On the other hand John 3:18 (…those who do
not believe are condemned already) seems to give us permission to divide
the world into us and them. So what gives? Is there a password to paradise or
not? Whenever I ask that question I hear my teacher and mentor The Reverend
Doctor Walter Bouman saying “that’s the wrong question.” Which is to say we tend
to rush to the end of the story without considering the narrative. God’s intention
to not send the Son into the world to condemn it is first and foremost a
statement about God. Every two bit small g god knows how to put on a light show
and beat down the peasants into submission. The big G God of Israel abandons
the place of power to make a small hill outside an insignificant city of an
occupied nation the location of suffering that will be salvation for the world.
What we do with that doesn't have anything to do with God’s intention even if
our acceptance or rejection holds consequences that trump God’s desire. The
world gets condemnation. We invented it and have spent considerable time and
energy finding ways to be creative in our cruelty. God is not the one who
condemns. We are. But God offers a way out of our inhumanity by meeting the
world at its worst and letting the world’s way condemn the Son sent to love. So
the choice we are given is to believe that in the end the way of love will
overcome the condemnation that comes naturally to us.
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