It's Simpler Than We Think....
I literally...ten minutes ago...read a blog about Pope Francis' passing. It brought about some feelings so I felt a need to write something, or maybe it was indigestion, I'm not sure...but here's a quick list of thoughts that are raw, so bear with me, but feel free to disagree too.
The blog I read asked a simple question:
"Is the Pope in heaven?"
The author laid out a list — belief in Jesus, confession of faith, surrender, trust, obedience — and while I understand the heart behind it, something about it made me pause.
Not because I don’t believe those things matter.
They do.
But because sometimes we make the doorway to grace feel a lot narrower than it really is.
And honestly?
The list of what it takes to be saved isn't as long as we sometimes say.
At its core, it’s this:
Love God.
That’s it.
Not love perfectly.
Not love fully understanding everything.
Not love without questions or confusion.
Just love Him.
Love First. Understanding Later.
Love doesn’t start with understanding.
Love starts with trust.
You don’t have to have all the theological checkboxes filled out to love someone.
You don’t have to fully comprehend the mysteries of heaven to say,
"God, I love You because You first loved me."
Love says,
"I don't get it all... but I believe You do."
"I don't have it all figured out... but I trust You love me enough that You did something about it."
Love leans in before it has all the answers.
Love believes in the heart before it understands the plan.
And over time?
That love begins to listen.
That listening turns into learning.
That learning turns into growing.
And yeah — eventually, some changes show up.
But the entrance point?
The thing that holds you in the arms of grace?
It’s love.
Loving God Because He First Loved You
The good news of Jesus is not that you earned your way in.
It’s that you were loved before you even thought to ask.
God wasn’t waiting for you to pass a test.
He wasn’t waiting for you to check all the boxes.
He was already moving toward you.
Already pursuing you.
Already making a way — through His Son — because He’s that passionate about being with you.
Love God.
Trust His love for you.
That’s where real faith begins.
Even if you don't fully understand the theology.
Even if you wrestle with doubts.
Even if you limp forward on shaky legs sometimes.
Love gets you home.
Final Thought:
If we’re going to talk about salvation, let’s make sure we don’t make it sound harder than it is.
Because Jesus didn’t come to complicate things.
He came to restore what love had lost.
Pope Francis?
You?
Me?
All of us?
At the end of the day, it’s not about how impressive we were, how much we got right, or what anyone else thought of us. He knows all the truth.
It’s about how much we were willing to believe:
"I love You because You first loved me."
That's it.
Let me know:
Have you ever felt like faith was supposed to be more complicated than it really is?
What would change if you believed that love — not performance — was the starting line?
Drop a thought/argument/other viewpoint in the comments.
Let’s talk about it.
#GraceIsBigger #LoveFirst #FaithMadeSimple#RealTalk