Thursday, July 27, 2006

Salvation Revisited (briefly)

If you read here much you know that I can't stand boiling Christianity down to heaven and hell. But....I was thinking about this question that a friend of mine asked me a while back.

"So, do you think gays will go to heaven?"

My answer was and still is....

"I hope so."

I can only be certain of my own salvation, and love others as I rely on Christ to continue to transform me into a greater reflection of Him. And, truthfully, I believe that the my reflection of Jesus IS my salvation....here and now. It's not something I'm waiting to pass into at the time of death. I'm not sure why, but I felt sort of led to share this today.

Have a great weekend everyone!

grace

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nicely said - "I can only be sure of my own salvation." We can say why we are assured of our own salvation in Christ. The Holy Spirit has to be the one who takes our witness to the truth of the gospel in our lives and the Word of Christ and ignite it into faith in others' lives.

Peterson Toscano said...

Wait--streets of gold, seraphim and cherabim, angelic choirs, flowing robes, loads of candlestands--sounds like my people already made their mark!

Anonymous said...

Just another reason why I love you, Grace. What an eloquent post! The "I hope so" was so touching, because I don't think I'd get that response from many people in my church if I asked.

I think a lot of the Christian community suffers from what I like to call "wishful thinking". They certainly won't say it aloud, but some of them want gays to go to hell, or Muslims, or whatever their personal bias might be. It's not anything they give real thought to, just a personal bias (a sin) that has crossed over into their spiritual thinking, and can erode that thinking if they're not careful. Am I making sense?

No Christian should wish hell on anybody. The only reason I'm not a Universalist is because of the Scriptural evidence; Hell is a reality, but not a desired one. Then again, there are some people *cough* Ann Coulter *cough* that I wouldn't mind seeing placed Downstairs. Hopefully the Lord will forgive me for that :)

- Jay

grace said...

Interior: I truly appreciate your support and affirmation! Means a great deal to me!

Peterson: Well...YEAH!! i don't get how "straight" folks can talk about the crowns we lay at HIS feet never once mentioning who had to have have designed said crowns!!! Let's get real here! ;)

Jay: You are incredible. I'm trying hard not to compare my 19yr.old to you....but...goodness...where do 18 yr.olds come from who have your wisdom????

love,
grace

grace said...

Jay: duh...I've said it myself that I've yet to meet a gay person who wasn't of above average intelligence...of course you are smart and wise! duh duh duh....ok..you are on the road to "ex-gay" or whatever...the fact remains...you are super smart and over-all that is a characteristic I've noticed among those of your (and tdub's) stripe.

just sayin'.

:)
grace

Anonymous said...

(blushing) They come from hippie parents, Grace. Or at least I did :)

grace said...

Jay: Then you need to get out more....according to the "research" you all come from mouth-breathing dads and over-bearing moms. whew knew?? *wink wink*
Very interesting obervation...talk to Tdub about his "hippie" birth mom. very funny you should mention that!
love ya much!
grace

Anonymous said...

I have a hard time connecting with questions/concerns about who might be going to heaven or who might not be.

And I don't want to sound dismissive or impervious to other folks' concerns about me when I say this: It's OK with me that some folks are convinced that I'm not going to heaven. At a certain point, what others think of my values and beliefs is none of my business. My beliefs would be pretty thin if they depended on external approval anyway.

I do connect with your concerns in this sense, Grace -- I wish richly meaningful spiritual lives for the folks I know. The sense of assurance about an ever-after sounds cool, but I wish for folks to be finding meaning and a sense of being grounded, or inspired, or deeply peaceful, or whatever matters most to them, in the here and now.

Peace to you tonight, Grace...

grace said...

Steve,
I love you man! I'm certain that I'll meet you on one side or the other in real and living color even if I'm not completely following what you just said in this particular comment space! :)

Love you much!

grace

CrackerLilo said...

That sounds like as good an answer as any.

(I'm Jayelle at XGW.)

grace said...

Hi Jayelle! I haven't checked in over there for a few weeks. I need to. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I will check out your blog as well! :)

grace