Tonight I watched the live broadcast of Rob Bell’s interview in New York. Not only did I watch and listen to what Rob Bell had to say, I read the comments on the chat box to the right of the screen. I had several comments and thoughts throughout the broadcast but managed to reserve them. I wanted to be more of an observer this time and not someone else throwing in my 2 cents. Believe it or not, I am not going to do that here either. I’ll let everyone else debate Rob Bell and what he says, writes and thinks. I have an opinion too, but I’ll keep it to myself.
When I was taking guitar lessons, the instructor said something I thought was very interesting. He was going through progressions of chords and variations of different chords (this particular lesson was a “D” Chord). He explained how when people write songs, there is a progression of chords and certain chords leave you “hanging there”. As the listener, you desperately want them to “Finish it”. He then played through some chords and showed how they all lead up to a moment where you, the listener are waiting for the end. You’re waiting for that other chord (a “G” chord for example) that tells your ears that it’s finished.
As I watched the broadcast with Rob Bell, I couldn’t help but think back to that lesson. The questions of Heaven and Hell, the questions of who’s in and who’s not, the theology, the beliefs, the scriptural interpretation, they all lead to one thing – We want to finish it. It’s like that chord that isn’t resolved. Our lives are a progression of notes and when we get to that one moment, it is just “hanging there”. We desperately want that hear that final chord. We want to know there is a final chord and it won’t just be left in the balance.
Again, I’ll keep my opinion on Bell to myself. I’ll let experts and others decide what they believe about him, about Heaven and about Hell. This was just my impression about the human race and our desire….which drives the questions.
