Hope or Fear

On a scale of one to ten, with one being, "God is more concerned about sending people to Hell" and ten being "God is more concerned about getting people into Heaven", where would you place the truth?

On a scale of one to ten, with one being, "God is all about judgment and justice" and ten being "God is all about mercy and forgiveness", where would you place the truth?

On a scale of one to ten, with one being, "I think only about God being upset with my sins" and ten being "I think only about God being willing to forgive my sins", where would you place the truth?

On a scale of one to ten, with one being, "almost everyone is going to Hell" and ten being "almost everyone is going to Heaven", where would you place the truth?

These are important questions, because the answer you give will determine whether you are driven more by hope or by fear. Those whose motivation is fear, live their lives with a constant concern that they can never do enough to make God happy. Those whose motivation is hope, live their lives trying to do what is good and right, but always recognize that it is God's love that will win in the end.

Our Lord and Savior is far more understanding when you fail than you can ever know. He is much more willing to help you than you can even desire for Him to do. He is fully aware of how weak you are and how often you slip up and make mistakes, and loves you anyway. He is nothing like those abusive fathers we hear about (or maybe you have experienced) who are always looking for an error to correct or a sin to punish. When you slip up and forget something in the confessional, He never says "gotcha!" but always says, "My dear, dear, child, I know you truly want to be good and do what I have commanded, and for that I forgive you all your sins. Keep seeking holiness and I will be there to help you all along the way."