People misunderstand "God." I used to view God as this entity who was waiting for me to mess up, then I would be punished - struck down by a lightning bolt or something. The biggest problem men struggle with is an incorrect understanding of what God is like, who God is.

God is love. God requires mercy, not sacrifice. Forgiveness is ours - not judgement. God desires to be in a relationship of understanding with us, not to punish us. Religion is mans' attempt to reach God, but it is not possible for us to reach God - He has already given us Jesus Christ as an example to follow, and a sacrifice to settle our sin debt, once and for all. All we must do is believe and accept that there was an agreement made, between a father and a son, and the price of our sins was paid for.

Mankind had nothing to do with it. We are incapable of perfection, so a pathway for redemption was provided for us. It is hard to accept a free gift - it is hard to understand what that means. We don't deserve the mercy and grace that we have received - but we can choose to believe that it is ours for the taking. No amount of living by the rules or following laws will earn us any more forgiveness. The only thing left to do is to understand who God is, what the life of Jesus means for us, and how we can better live out the measure of time allotted to us.

We make progress down the road of life - sometimes failing to realize our forgiveness, sometimes remembering that we have been forgiven - and we relate to others around us in the best way that we can. It is not always possible to live in harmony with everyone - so we must choose to live in harmony with God and with our own conscience. Each moment, we choose to take the actions of love & kindness, trusting that someday God will set all things right. Or, we try to enforce our own set of rules on ourselves and the world around us. We either accept the grace that is ours, or choose not to.

The rain falls on the rich and the poor, the kind and the mean, the good and the evil. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for our suffering. We simply know that we suffer, in this life. Our actions can increase this suffering, or ease the suffering of those around us

Choose your path with care, demonstrating love and mercy to others as best you can. Believe that Jesus has already paid off the debt of your sin. This is all we can do. Our past, present, and future failures are already forgiven. This is not a license to hurt others - it is an identity given to us, showing us that we can choose to live with compassion because of who we are.