Thanks...

...Jo and Richard for the opportunity to eat together, drink together (even if the Coke was flat!) and to share some God-talk. Lets do it again soon. For those who missed out we used Rob Bell's talk 'Bullhorn' to think about God-shaped love.

Statements that provoked...

'it seems like you're trying to convert people to your religion. like they're notches on some sort of spiritual belt. But they're not. They're people, they're people that God loves. They're people that Jesus wants us to love. They aren't statistics, they aren't nimbers, they aren't possible conversions. I mean if I'm loving somebody with an agenda, then it isn't really love, is it?'

'So a Christian is somebody who understands that people with different perspectives and different religious beliefs and convictions, they're to be loved and respected, because they're made by God, and they're sacred and they're valuable and they matter. God loves the world, so a Christian does to.'

'That's why the hell fire and brimstone stuff is so dangerous. When you tell me that I should follow Jesus so that I don't burn forever, it sounds like a threat. As if you scare people enough they'll all of a sudden magically decide to love God and follow Jesus.'

Thoughts that stuck...

The apparent simplicity(?) of Matthew 22:36-40 and John 13:35.

The difficulty(?) of fleshing it out!

Questions that arose...

What draws me to the message of Jesus?

Is trying to 'convert' someone to your religious beliefs an agenda?

Is it possible to love without an agenda?

Answers found...?

'May we see that how we love others is how we love God.
That's it.
That's the way of love.
That's the way of Jesus.'