reading the Bible

Monday March 24^th, Romans 5: 1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.  The message that all too often heard delivered from the Christian community and heard by the community at large is that you really cannot be confident in looking forward to sharing God’s glory.  There is a whole lot of my way or the highway theology out there, and the highway is question often includes flames. William Sloane Coffin talked about engaging those who want little to do with the church in conversation by having them describe the god they do not believe in.  He goes on to say that most of the time he can tell them that as a pastor, he doesn't believe in that god either.  How do we as the children of God present this God we profess to love and be loved by?  It is not always the words we use, but often the way we live our lives.  Out of 100 people, one reads the Bible and the other 99 read the person that reads the Bible.  Do we present ourselves as being in a place of undeserved privilege, confidently looking forward to sharing in God’s glory because of what Christ has done, or do we somehow make it about us and require others to somehow pursue the same path we are on?  Remember, God is in the center and each of us are at a different place in life.  We do not rise to the occasion and go to God so much as respond to God who has already come down to us. Remember, that for God to get to each of us, that often times God must travel a different path.  Before you judge someone else’s path you might want to remind yourself that it is God who is traveling the path, not the person we are judging.