The Spirituality of Jesus: Judgmental, Permissive, or _________ ?

Sunday Gathering May 5, 2024Mark Baker (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32)Authoritarian or apathetic? Commanding or complacent? Intrusive or indifferent? While we’re talking extremes, how do you most often view God? From parents to coaches, teachers to relatives, how we have experienced authority figures in our lives shapes our view of them which then in turn influences how we relate to them.Jesus entered into a culture that already had ways of relating to authority, holding a tension between the polarization of legalism or permissiveness. Whether the lens of your spirituality relates to God holding a gavel to maintain order, or the parent backstage of American Idol who couldn’t disappoint their kid by telling them they can’t sing, we may be surprised by the spirituality of Jesus who invites us to the center to reimagine these polar opposites.