A lot of people seem to think that the church is all about the fear tactics–controlling people by instilling the fear of Hell in them. That’s not to say there’s nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.
I don’t live in fear of being struck down by God. I live in fear of letting myself be dragged back into the empty, meanngless life that I was living before I gave myself to God. It’s not like I was getting strung out on drugs on a regular basis or anything like that. In fact, most people knew me as pretty straight-laced kid.
My problem was trying to put all the burdens of the world on myself. I wanted to change the world solely by my own efforts.
I may be optimistic, but I’m not unrealistic. There was no way I was going to get the world’s population to change their self-destructive mindsets during my lifetime. This made me unbelievably bitter…almost to the point of not wanting to pursue this goal at all.
God gave me hope that everything’s gonna work out in the end. He made me realize that even though I can’t fix all the world’s ills, I should take joy in all the good I have and will be able to do because it’s not all about me.
Saving the world is a team effort that all of God’s people are meant to be a part of.