Revelation 3:15\u201317<\/a>).<\/p>\nTo be perfectly honest, I don\u2019t quite understand where grace fits into this paradigm. I\u2019ve often thought how absurd it is that the only difference between the saved and the damned is something the supposed \u201csaved\u201d did in order to gain their saved status. Think about it. Listen to most any Christian talk about salvation and they will always come back to something you must do. If you do the right thing, make the right decision, pray the right prayer, and\/or live the right sort of life, then you\u2019re good. Eternally so. But if you don\u2019t do the right thing, don\u2019t make the right decision, don\u2019t pray the right prayer, and\/or don\u2019t live the right sort of life, then you\u2019re doomed. Again . . . eternally so.<\/p>\n
And sure, Christians will still talk about grace. They will likely suggest that it is by grace that you are saved, but then add that you still must maintain faith in that grace. But that\u2019s not grace, now is it? It\u2019s like the Christian who talks about God\u2019s unconditional love, but then places a couple conditions upon it\u2014do this but don\u2019t do that; believe this but don\u2019t believe that. Sorry, but that\u2019s not unconditional, now is it?<\/p>\n
Now, please don\u2019t misinterpret me. There is nothing wrong with telling others about something that you think is going to benefit their lives. There is nothing wrong with trying to help others out, especially if you believe they are going to be eternally tortured in a divine Auschwitz of sorts. The problem, at least for me, is that I always felt as if there was a gun to my head throughout the whole process. If I didn\u2019t get out there and proselytize then the wrath of God was going to forever abide on me. If I didn\u2019t sit with people and get them to \u201cgive their heart to the Lord,\u201d then I better start sleeping with one eye open, if you catch my meaning.<\/p>\n
To my mind, this picture of God is not unlike the many pictures of God religion has perpetually concocted throughout the millennia. But I thought the \u201cGod of the Bible\u201d\u2014as I\u2019ve often heard it put\u2014was \u201cset apart?\u201d That God was holy? This raises the question: If the one true God is actually set apart, why in the ever-loving-hell does he seem to behave just like us and just like the gods we create? I mean, is it God the Father or the Godfather? Is God like Jesus or is God like Don Corleone? Don\u2019t get me wrong, I love that movie, but I\u2019m really hoping it\u2019s not a correct portrait of what God is like.<\/p>\n
Obviously, I say that with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. I don\u2019t, for even one second, believe that God is like that. God is not sitting atop a ladder that we must climb in order to experience her presence. That\u2019s far too exhausting! God is, as theologian James Alison has put it, one whom we relax<\/em> into. All we have to do\u2014if we can even call it \u201cdoing\u201d\u2014is trust that we are going to be caught when we release our grip on the rungs. The Buddhists may call it \u201cnon-grasping,\u201d and that description seems to fit best when we talk about divinity. It\u2019s not about grasping or striving; it\u2019s about letting go of the desire and need to grasp at anything, including\u2014perhaps especially\u2014God.<\/p>\nMay we all experience this grace\u2014this unadulterated grace. And may we trust that no matter what, God is there with us, for us, and continually works through us so that we may experience the benefits of what a life oriented towards grace brings.<\/p>\n
Peace.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
*If you enjoy the work I\u2019m doing here, please support me on\u00a0Patreon<\/a>. If you do, you\u2019ll get a crap-ton more content, including books, videos, and more!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and my God. If the world and the people in it were like those trapped in a blazing high-rise building, I was the first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2874,"featured_media":1879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,80,40,6],"tags":[454,120,368,472,469,16],"class_list":["post-1873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atonement","category-mysticism","category-religion","category-theology","tag-buddhism","tag-god","tag-grace","tag-james-alison","tag-non-grasping","tag-theology"],"yoast_head":"\n
Christianity Shouldn't Be This Exhausting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christianity Shouldn't Be This Exhausting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"All Set Free\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-04T17:20:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/821\/2019\/04\/tired.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"491\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew Distefano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew Distefano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/\",\"name\":\"Christianity Shouldn't Be This Exhausting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-04T17:20:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-04T17:20:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#\/schema\/person\/3992682dec5a674c667d6b42771f2740\"},\"description\":\"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Christianity Shouldn’t Be This Exhausting\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/\",\"name\":\"All Set Free\",\"description\":\"None Are Free Unless All Are Free\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#\/schema\/person\/3992682dec5a674c667d6b42771f2740\",\"name\":\"Matthew Distefano\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dcc191956e5d3e888f9aff97ebd4a63?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dcc191956e5d3e888f9aff97ebd4a63?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Matthew Distefano\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/author\/mdistefano\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christianity Shouldn't Be This Exhausting","description":"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christianity Shouldn't Be This Exhausting","og_description":"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/","og_site_name":"All Set Free","article_published_time":"2019-04-04T17:20:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":491,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/821\/2019\/04\/tired.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matthew Distefano","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthew Distefano","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/","name":"Christianity Shouldn't Be This Exhausting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-04-04T17:20:48+00:00","dateModified":"2019-04-04T17:20:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#\/schema\/person\/3992682dec5a674c667d6b42771f2740"},"description":"Growing up in the Evangelical church, I was often told that I needed to \u201cwin souls for the Lord.\u201d I needed to get out there and be bold for my faith and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/04\/christianity-shouldnt-be-this-exhausting\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Christianity Shouldn’t Be This Exhausting"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/","name":"All Set Free","description":"None Are Free Unless All Are Free","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#\/schema\/person\/3992682dec5a674c667d6b42771f2740","name":"Matthew Distefano","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dcc191956e5d3e888f9aff97ebd4a63?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dcc191956e5d3e888f9aff97ebd4a63?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Matthew Distefano"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/author\/mdistefano\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/821\/2019\/04\/tired.jpg\")