1890) As I read newsfeeds, I find there are still people in our world who are snatched and held hostage. There are many reasons and motivations for this, and unfortunately, it still happens.
 
There are those who have been abused by the church and God’s children who see God as a hostage taker. They may feel God barges in and demands things and if you don’t do them, you’re rejected. The picture this paints is of an angry God, unforgiving and harsh, and of course, this is not attractive to non-believers or those who once believed but, through circumstances and spiritual abuse, no longer desire a relationship with God.

Revelation 3:20 tells us Jesus knocks on the door of our hearts and waits for us to invite him in. He does not barge or force himself in. John 3:17 tells us Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn the world, but to be the giver of salvation.
 
Will there be a time when God is the judge? Of course, but the New Wine we have in these days is grace, not hostages.