In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day…Part 2

So there is this part in the book where Mark Batterson quotes another book by Dr. Neal Roese called “IF ONLY”, and Roese makes a distinction between two types of regret: “regrets of action and regrets of inaction.  A regret of action is wishing you hadn’t done something.”  (Every been there before?) “In theological terms, it’s called a sin of commission.  A regret of inaction is wishing you had done something. In theological terms, it’s a sin of omission.”

He goes on to say, “I think the church has fixated on sins of commission for far too long.  We have a long lists of don’ts.  Think of it as holiness by subtraction.  We think holiness is the byproduct of subtracting something from our lives that shouldn’t be there.  And holiness certainly involves subtraction.  But I think God is more concerned about sins of omission-those things we could have and should have done.  It’s holiness by multiplication.  Goodness is not he absence of badness.  You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right.  Those who simply run away from sin are half-Christians.  Our calling is much higher than simply running away from what’s wrong.  We’re called to chase lions.  There is an old aphorism: ‘No Guts, No Glory.’   When we don’t have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to Him.  Is anybody else tired of reactive Christianity that is more known for what it’s against that what it’s for?  We’ve become far too defensive.  We’ve become far too passive.  Lion chasers are proactive.  They know that playing it safe is risky.  Lion chasers are always on the lookout for God-ordained opportunities.”

God has been rocking my world about this idea, especially with teenagers, that a relationship with Christ is a long list of don’ts.  Teenagers say that all the time that they feel being a Christ-follower is about a list of stuff they can’t do.  When in reality being a Christ-follower is more about what we have to live for.  I even talked with somebody recently who mentioned about a youth pastor who has set up such a strict way of living that there is no way the students can attain that level of perfection, including the leader himself.
What picture of God are we painting to this generation and the next?
Are we painting a picture of a God who is so above us that He is unattainable and a God who lacks love and grace?
Or should we be painting a picture of God who wants the best for us, who loves us and who shows us undeserved grace.  Kind of like what we should be showing to others.