RANDALL WORLEY / QUESTIONING MY ANSWERS
“If you can define it, you automatically have confined it as well.”
Randall Worley talks about having a “beginner’s mind,” faith while embracing mystery, pioneering and the nature of heresy, the limits of language, approaching scripture through love, and the importance of remaining curious while understanding that God is not insecure or defensive when we raise hard questions.
“If we are afraid of the answers we will never ask the hard questions.”
Quotes:
“If we are afraid of the answers we will never ask the hard questions.”
“If it’s causing you to love God more, love yourself more and love people more, it’s the truth.”
“Our hearts can understand far more than our minds will ever apprehend, much less comprehend.”
“God does not conceal anything from us but He does conceal it for us.”
“When mystery is taken out, the relationship is doomed.”
“It’s something I ask for often, ‘I want the beginner’s mind.
“Creation was God’s original language.”
“If you can define it, you automatically have confined it as well.”
For more on Randall Worley
www.randallworley.com
CLICK HERE for a free download of
QUESTIONING MY ANSWERS
A Manifesto for Spiritual Searchers
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
Randall Worley hosts interviews on his Instagram and I (Jason) was honored to have a conversation with him about the goodness of God, the mystery of faith, the sovereignty of God, and how we are navigating the murky waters of offense in these unprecedented times.
I also share about the heart behind why I wrote the book, God Is (Not) In Control / The Whole Story Is Better Than You Think
Randall Worley is an author, speaker, leadership consultant, and life coach. For 40 years he has traveled the world speaking in conferences, seminars, and schools inspiring his audiences to think progressively about the role of the kingdom of God in the world.
YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE…
Control, Trust, and Love
“How do I experience God’s love?”
Because I write and speak on the always good love of our heavenly Father, that is a question I am asked often. It’s a question I believe many sons and daughters have wrestled with, particularly in the Western Church where we have had to puzzle out God’s role in the devastation of the most recent Tsunami…
Much of the church has had to navigate the disparity inherent in a theology of sovereign control and punishment. I believe this has birthed a great crisis regarding intimacy with God; we don’t know how to experience His pleasure. We have little access to His good love.
Many of us know the names of God, we know His attributes, we are intellectually certain He loves us, and yet we are not confident in His affection. While we all desire closeness with God, for many, closeness with God is far from a daily, moment by moment experience.
For many, the Christian faith is based more on an acknowledgement of God’s love than an actual encounter. But love goes beyond intellect; love is an emotive experience with a Person.
Have you ever noticed that at least two thirds of the Kingdom can be felt? “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17)
This scripture in Romans reveals that the Kingdom can be emotionally experienced. Joy and peace are not just theological positions in God; they are also actual felt responses to experiencing His presence.
We are designed to experience God’s presence, His closeness, His affection. He created us for relationship; not a theoretical relationship, but an experiential knowing. We were born to know and be known, to commune with God, to have an honest, true, whole, authentic, affectionate relationship with our Savior and Friend.
It’s called intimacy.
And I would like to propose that much of the church is unable to access this intimacy for one reason. We have a theology of control.
Intimacy and Control
Control can be a good concept when applied to things or situations.
Jason was in control of the car. That’s good.
But control is a broken idea when applied to relationship, it undermines intimacy.
Jason was in control of his wife, his kids, his friends, his parents, his neighbors, his subjects… That’s not good.
Intimacy can’t be experienced in a relationship where one person is controlling the other. Intimacy is only experienced where there is trust. And trust isn’t possible if one of the people in a relationship is controlling.
You can’t have intimacy with someone you can’t trust. And control undermines trust. It is the antithesis of intimacy.
A God-in-control positions humanity in insecurity. It undermines trust in the One who we are most designed to know and trust. Why? Because a God in control is a controlling God.
A theology of sovereign control erodes our ability to trust, making intimacy with God something we are promised but never actually experience.
But Jesus powerfully modeled the way into intimacy by surrendering His very life. Jesus rejected punishment; the very idea behind control.
If we aren’t convinced that God is love and His love is sovereign, perfectly good; if we think God is in control of particular areas of our lives, then we are forced to navigate those areas of our lives outside of intimacy. And it effects everything!
The Subtle Erosions of Control
The theology of sovereign control doesn’t just undermine our faith in God’s good love when facing tsunami-size problems; it subtlety erodes access to trust in our everyday life.
If He is in control, then when we stub our toe, the car needs new brakes and we don’t have the cash, the neighbor doesn’t like us, someone else gets the closer parking space, the dog escapes from the backyard and it’s getting dark and he’s not that bright; even in the subtle context of daily life, we are forced to wrestle over something that is (and should be in our minds) an absolute – the goodness of God. Ultimately our trust is compromised and intimacy is lost.
We are designed to live, move and have our being in the confidence that He is always good – that His love is sovereign. And yet our very misguided definition of His sovereignty undermines our ability to trust in His goodness. Our faith is subverted by our misunderstanding.
But, if we are willing to step away from the flawed narrative of sovereign control and lean into a greater revelation of His love, it opens up for us an opportunity to trust His goodness in ways we have never been able to trust before.
And in this trust, we will begin to know His affection in ways we have never fully known but always longed for. And when we begin to discover His affection truly and fully, we will experience intimacy with God
Jesus came to make us sure. Jesus revealed sovereign love and He came to give us access to intimacy.
You are His favorite, He is pleased with you and He is for you. God can be trusted today with everything, the big stuff and the small, not because He is in control but because His love is always that good.
I pray you experience your Father’s embrace today. I pray grace for breakthrough in your thinking and experience.
Lots of love.
Jason
What Is God Like?
regarding eternal suffering
I have one message, and those of you who know me have already smiled, maybe even rolled your eyes, because you’ve heard me say it more than once.
God is love, and His love is always good.
He looks like Jesus, and we exist to grow sure in His affection.
I believe Jesus is what God looks like, and it doesn’t get clearer than Jesus on a cross.
God looks like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, reconciling all humanity to Himself, not counting our sins, deceptions, behaviors, arrogance, distrusts, theological non-negotiables, condescension, abuses, best efforts, striving, confusion, or misunderstandings against us. Nothing, He holds nothing against us. (from 2 Cor 5:19) Isn’t that good news!?
Jesus revealed that God is love. Every attribute of God has its foundation in Love.
In the New Testament, there are only three nouns used to define God, He is Light (1 John 1:5), Life (John 1:4), and Love (1 John 4:7). Everything else is an adjective, simply attributes of His nature.
God is Righteous (Rom 3:21) Adjective.
God is Holy, (1 Peter 1:15) Adjective.
God is Sovereign (Matt 19:26) Adjective.
God is Just (Acts 2:7) Adjective.
And so on…
For me, any thoughts I might have regarding His adjectives or His attributes must come into alignment with His always-good love or I need to repent, I must change my thoughts.
I have a God lens. It is Love, Light, and Life.
And I believe everyone has a God lens.
And I believe our God lens is everything.
I am becoming convinced that everything in our lives, our experiences, our relationships, our theology, beliefs, and choices—everything is determined by what we believe about the nature of God’s love.
Over the years, I have written and shared on many subjects through my God lens; His sovereignty, our nature, grace, family, honor, sin, justice, relationship, salvation, trust, punishment, leadership; on and on I have shared my thoughts through my God lens.
Recently, through the same lens, God is love, His love is always good, and He looks like Jesus, I wrote a couple of articles on the subject of hell. These articles were released on our ministry, A Family Story’s, website. You can read them HERE & HERE
This is not the first time I’ve written on the subject of hell. I have an entire chapter devoted to it in my last book, God Is (Not) In Control, titled, Heaven and Hell.
But the most recent articles seemed to touch a nerve as questions, concerns, anger, and even relational distancing has impacted my family over the last several weeks because of what I wrote.
The main issue some folks have had with the articles is over my thoughts regarding our Father’s always-good love and His redemptive nature, particularly regarding what God is like after we die. Below is a brief synopsis of the articles.
“I believe the love of God pursues us after we die (Rom 8:38-39). Love doesn’t fail. God is love, and His nature doesn’t change simply because we reject Him. I have never claimed to know what that looks like after we die; I have simply suggested that I am more than open to the idea that God is not just a relentlessly reconciling Redeemer on this side of life.”
This idea raised a sincere question in the article’s comment section. “Can we be saved after we die?”
It’s a great question, one many are quietly and fearfully asking within the church today.
But after weeks of in-depth conversations with theologians, pastors, and friends, I think, “Can we be saved after we die?” may be the wrong question, or at least not the question I am most interested in discovering answers to. I think there’s a better question.
“What is God like?”
That’s the question I have been focused on for so many years. And, when it comes to hell, what God is like was the underlying and ultimate question I hoped to address in my articles.
As I wrote,
“When it comes to hell, here’s the issue for me, I don’t believe God is about retribution. Punishment says something about the nature of God I just don’t see in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.”
Essentially, my article suggested that any conclusion about hell that is punitive in nature is flawed.
Over the last several weeks, every disagreement around the issue of hell, with every person, be they theologians, pastors, and friends, has come down to one thing, a disagreement regarding the nature of God.
Retribution. That’s the disagreement; that’s the issue.
I am not summarizing or interpreting. Each person with whom I had an in-depth conversation stated that punishment was a part of how God interacted and dealt with humanity.
Each person believed retribution is a part of the nature of God.
And each person believed hell is a final, non-negotiable separation from His love—an eternal act of punishment.
What I found most interesting regarding these disagreements, while each person stated they believed punishment is a part of how God ultimately deals with us, many also wanted to assure me that punishment isn’t God’s primary focus; it isn’t His heart toward us.
One pastor friend, after confirming he believed hell was ultimately about punishment, said, “But we are not punishment focused,”
That caught my attention. In my opinion, to suggest we aren’t punishment focused but it is a part of the nature of God is a little like saying, “God carries a gun but we’re not going to focus on it because He rarely uses it… or at least not in this life…or, well, not often…or…”
Eventually, that thought breaks down to, “God carries a gun.” Period. Full stop.
And this is where the heart of the issue lies for me. I believe hell exists, but for me, hell has nothing to do with God and a gun.
A gun is a gun. Its implication is in its design. While a gun can provide a sense of safety and security, it’s a false sense because it does so through threats or acts of violence. It can only be used for good if the person holding it is actually willing to pull the trigger. And when it comes to God, if He pulls the trigger even once, then how can it not ultimately command all of our focus?
Here is what I have discovered; the disagreements I’ve navigated these last weeks on the issue of hell, they ultimately haven’t been about hell; they have been about what we believe about the nature of God and His love.
What is God like?
Our disagreement is fundamentally over our convictions regarding the nature of God and His love—it’s about our God lens.
I do not believe God carries or uses a gun. Not once, not ever.
While punishment has certainly been in humanity’s perspective, it has never been in God’s nature as Jesus revealed Him. On the cross, Jesus revealed that nothing separates us from Him; not death or life, angels or demons, not anything in the present nor anything in the future, there is no greater power than His love, nothing higher or deeper, there is nothing in creation that could separate me or anyone else from the love of God that was so beautifully and perfectly revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (see Rom 8:38-39)
I know many reading this may have questions regarding scripture that seems to clearly show God as a punisher. I have posted several articles over the last several weeks regarding how I approach and interpret scripture (you can read them HERE), but feel free to ask.
And I know many reading this may respond with biblical proof that I’m wrong, that God is most definitely retributive. Over the last several weeks, I’ve experienced many “biblical” rebuttals. These days, “biblical” seems to be the word many Christians use to say, “you’re wrong.” But please, feel free to note scripture. This is a safe place, and I may be wrong.
I am not suggesting we shouldn’t be “biblical” when it comes to hell. I love scripture—my articles are littered with references.
What I am suggesting—maybe the conversation the church is having regarding hell isn’t best served through debating scripture references; maybe it’s best served by revisiting the lens through which we interpret them. Maybe the lens through which we know God determines everything; everything regarding how we interpret the bible and then everything regarding our thoughts on hell.
I have discovered over the last several years, and more intensely and painfully in the last weeks, that there are many Christians who believe we are saved both by grace through faith in Christ AND ALSO by our belief in the power of eternal punishment.
The more convinced I become in the non-punishing reconciling love of God, the more strongly I’ve been confronted by those convinced God carries a gun. Many have suggested that I am undermining the doctrine of salvation. And I understand the concern, anger, relational distancing, and rejection.
If a person believes punishment is in God’s nature, that God pulls triggers after we die, that hell is His final act of eternal separation, then simply asking the question, “Can we be saved when we die?” is sacrilege and attempting to answer, sheer heretical lunacy.
Here’s the thing, if a person believes God carries a gun and, at the end of the day, He will use it on those who have rejected Him, then what I wrote is not something that person can afford to ignore. That’s why I believe some have chosen over the last weeks to distance themselves from me and even reject me and, through me, my family. And as painful as this has been for my whole family, I get it. If God is ultimately about punishment, then my suggestion that He is a relentless redeemer both now and forever is dangerous, reckless, and to be condemned.
So, to those I have concerned, angered, or put in a relational rock and a hard place, I am sorry. Please know you are loved whether we can agree or not. When I write or speak, I have one passion, to reveal my Father’s always-good love so that the reader or listener would grow in revelation, in trust, and have greater access to intimacy. I did not seek to offend, and I understand why my belief that God is not punitive and, therefore, hell isn’t about punishment has shaken so many to their core.
And thank you for reaching out. Concerns and anger are a part of iron sharpening iron; to be loved enough that one would share their concerns or to believe strongly enough that one could be angered, these are expressions of our humanity, and when honestly and humbly conveyed, these emotions can often lead to deeper understanding, friendship, and trust.
And for those with questions. We’re honored to run together toward discovering His affection and, in His affection, revelation.
We are grateful for all those we’ve met with. We love it when we can sit with someone across a meal or coffee and seek understanding without having to agree. It’s a powerful family that can disagree and still love one another.
And to those who have rejected us intentionally or otherwise, we forgive you.
I pray that they will be one… so the world will believe (from John 17:1). That was Jesus’ prayer; that we would know His love and in this knowing, reveal His love. That is my prayer as well.
I am a fellow traveler who is discovering God as Love, Life, and Light. So while there is certainly room for disagreement about what hell looks like, at the end of the day, I make no bones about my God lens. I have not hidden my Jesus hermeneutic. Nor will I. I will continue to believe that God is better than my ability to understand. And to that end, I will continue to live and write.
What is God like? That is my focus in everything. My greatest desire is to grow in my one message. And those of you who know me have probably smiled again, and this time definitely rolled your eyes.
God is love, and His love is always good.
He looks like Jesus, and we exist to grow sure in His affection.
May you grow sure.
Love you all. God bless!
Jason