Isaiah 64:8-12

Isaiah 64:8-12
English Standard Version (ESV)

  There are many people who preach hellfire & brimstone, threatening people that God is angry and ready to condemn unless we toe the proper line.  What is missed in these sermons is the emphasis in verse 8 -- that God has created us, and that we are his beloved creations.  He has invested himself in creating, and this is not a thing easily discarded.  When we moved, I found a box of art I had made when I was a child, and it was terrible art, but it was still my creation -- this was hard to get rid of, because I had made it.  I spent time and energy and love in the act of creation.
  So I think it's important to remember that hell is a real place, but God does not readily cast us out.  God loves us as his children, and he is eager to save, to reach and to love.  When we are beset by tribulation, we cry out to God because we know that God loves us, and we trust that he is eager to save.  God does not forget us in the midst of the storm.