I think one of the fundamental theological questions that underlies a lot of disagreements #onhere is this: “do you believe that the world, humanity, and you and I as individuals are presently mostly inclined to good or to evil?”

My beliefs about our desperate need for salvation, about the importance of talking about sin and its consequences, about the hope of a new creation, etc, are all founded in my deep belief that the whole world is sin-sick in a way we can treat but can do nothing to cure.

This is not a question of worth! It’s not a question of whether we or all of creation are loved by God - we are! We are, we are, we are. And not being cishet isn’t a sign or reflection of the world’s sinfulness. And every person has innate dignity that must, must be respected.

I was taught that I was God’s enemy when I was a child, and it traumatized me. I was taught that God hated me until he could look at the blood of Jesus instead. This is wrong, and in fact, is a sinful reflection of how sinful humans warp even the gospel into a weapon.

It’s love all the way down with God. When we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, God mercifully came to our rescue. God delights to lead us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.

The problem we are living in the middle of is massive and intractable and puts forth harm and suffering and greed and cruelty like a campfire puts forth sparks. We have to be able to tell the truth about how desperately bad the situation really is.

And then, we have to be able to talk clearly and safely about the love. The love, the love, the love. The desire for our good, for our healing, for our safety - for us to learn to mend and not to destroy. God’s desire for our wellness, at any cost.

Precious, precious children of God. That’s what we are, every one of us. You. God is working to mend it all, and doesn’t need our belief or our help to do it. The new creation is coming! Every one of us will be given life more abundant than we can even imagine.

We don’t have to be good to be loved. We don’t have to be well to be wanted. The love is unconditional. Unconditional.