The New Reformation 2nd Installment

With all the rain and flooding in Georgia over recent weeks, this image came to mind, and I thought it was an appropriate analogy. If I was in the middle of a flooding river, barely keeping my head above water, and an expert swimmer in full gear arrived on the scene and offered to pull me out, how would I feel? What would I say? I imagine most people would say they want to be saved. People who have lived through these kinds of events form a strong bond with their rescuers, a bond of grateful appreciation and deep love, and a respect for the rescuer's willingness to risk their lives for the sake of the one in danger.

Is this the way Jesus is presented to those drowning and lost in darkness?

Or have we replaced His offer of love with a threat?

Consider for a moment the difference between the loving and confident offer of the rescuer described above, and the fear-provoking threat of "if you don't get saved you are going to die!" First of all, the fear-based threat focuses on what I do instead of on what the rescuer does. Will I take him up on it or not? It is up to me! Now I might take the rescuer up on coming to get me, but I am not going to feel very close to someone who threatens me in a time of great peril. So a second difference is how I feel about the rescuer when it is all over. Finally, the threat shifts my thoughts from the act of salvation to the consequence of drowning - in other words, it keeps the focus on my interests instead of the love behind the offer. Perhaps you can think of other differences, but I am left with a sense of sadness that the church for many years has resorted to threatening people to "scare" them into salvation, keeping them distant from their Savior and focused on themselves. Some people even turn down the rescue because they are angered by the threat, and feel controlled and manipulated instead of loved.

But who would turn down a loving offer of help in a time of need? Let's return to the original offer of Jesus, called "Good News" for a reason! We are all drowning. He offers to come and get us out of the flood waters, and to put our feet back on solid ground. Thank you, Jesus.