Set Up To Succeed

I am recently a fan of Victoria Stilwell's "It's Me Or The Dog," on the Animal Planet channel. I have really enjoyed watching her train both dogs and owners in each episode. She solves all kinds of behavior problems while instructing viewers about the nature of various breeds and the proper way to train your pet. Victoria doesn't believe in using punishment to train animals and primarily uses food treats to reward positive behaviors. In a recent episode I heard her say that when training your dog, you don't allow it to fail. You set it up to succeed.

A sudden realization zapped through me - that's exactly what God has done with mankind. He has set us up to succeed and not to fail! God Himself never fails. Since He has determined, from the "beginning" to redeem all of mankind, He will succeed. We cannot fail! How cool is that! How awesome is God!

God is Fundamentally Love

I just finished listening to a live interview with Paul Young, author of The Shack. He is always a blessing to listen to as he answers questions about the book and about his understanding of God. While he insists that he is not a Universalist, his theology is certainly universalistic. He actually steps outside of the labels and focuses his understanding on who God is, and His essential nature. Just recently I had a "discussion" with someone via Facebook and found myself saying somewhat of the same thing. At some point, we have to stop debating scripture and go beyond to discover the true nature of God. I believe that our questions can be summed up and answered far more easily once we embrace that journey. Paul's statement was, "God is fundamentally and essentially love, and everything He does is motivated by love." I am beginning to grasp that truth more fully. As I have wrestled with others over scriptures regarding Universalism, I have struggled to paint a whole picture with incomplete and imperfect thoughts. When I focus on who God is, the picture comes into focus too. So, with Paul, I say that God is fundamentally love and everything He does is motivated by love.