The Fallacy of Hell

This blog and accompanying song are complements of Greg Fish, technology consultant for my blog. Thank you Greg.

While this particular blog post and song may seem like a departure from the main subject matter of this website, it really is not. The fallacy of hell stems in large part to inaccurate perceptions of God as a loving Father. It’s a broken trust and loss of innocence that is as old as time. The serpent whispered to Adam and Eve in the garden that they needed to do something to become who they already were. Since then, humanity has been striving in an effort to obtain the gift they were already given.

This is eating from the wrong tree. Taking morality into our own hands, and being our own judge will always lead to frustration. Simply put, God wants us to rest in our relationship with him, instead of judging and condemning ourselves through performance-driven, legalistic endeavors. When we opt for the toxic and poisonous fruit of self-righteousness instead of union with the righteousness of Jesus, we misconstrue the blessing of the abundant life Jesus offers. 

But there is good news. Surrender is stopping the struggle and becoming innocent and childlike again, trusting in Christ’s power and strength instead of our own. We can eat from the tree of Life and be healed. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 

This song explores our damaging, self-inflicted posture, versus the love that God has always exhibited since the very beginning. Watch the video and let the lyrics speak life into your heart and soul.

Lyrics: 

Roots in the river, leaves in the light
One tree whispers rest, one says “fight”
One says, “You’re naked, better sew your shame”
One says, “I called you beloved before you came”

We still walk that garden every day
Hands full of fig leaves, hearts afraid
Still reaching for the fruit that says
“Be your own judge, earn your own name”

But the fruit is poison sweet
Honey on the tongue, ash in the teeth
Self-righteousness dressed up in white
Keeping score deep into the night

And the Tree of Life still stands
Open arms instead of demands
No ladder to climb, no war to win
Just union pulling us back in

You were never starving in the Father’s house
Never abandoned, never shut out
But the serpent still sells the same old lie:
“God’s holding out — take and survive”

So we bite down hard on good and evil
Build our little courts and cathedrals
Measure ourselves by what we do
Trying to become what grace made true

Performance hanging round our necks
Like rusted keys and unpaid debts
Calling it holiness, calling it zeal
While love waits barefoot in the field

And the Tree of Life still blooms
Breaking open every tomb
Not a wage, not a prize
Just Jesus saying, “Take and eat, you’re Mine”

Oh, the law can name the wound
But it cannot make you new
Only the Vine, only the blood
Only the uncreated love

So let the toxic orchard die
The endless courtroom of the mind
Lay down the scales, the gavel, the fight
Come taste the fruit of eternal life

No fear left to hide behind
No distance left for love to climb
The Father never closed His hand
We were the ones who chose the land
East of Eden, west of grace
Running from a smiling face

But the Tree of Life still calls
Through every failure, every fall
And mercy grows where judgment ends
The garden opens wide again