God Doesn't Do Guilt
A sentence at a U2 concert changed how I understood the character of God
Welcome to today’s reflection.
Each weekday, paid subscribers receive an exclusive reflection designed to offer a thoughtful pause amid ordinary life. My prayer is that these brief pieces create a little space for curiosity, contemplation and wonder amid the noise of the day.
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When the tickets for a U2 concert came up, I did not hesitate. I had been a fan for years, and it's normally tough to get tickets.
What I wasn’t expecting was to have a powerful experience of God during the concert.
I was there for the music, the atmosphere, the shared experience of standing in a packed stadium singing songs I had known for years. It was loud, immersive and full of energy. The sort of evening where you come home with ringing ears rather than life-changing insights.
As the concert continued, short phrases began appearing on the giant screen above the stage. One of them stopped me in my tracks.
God doesn’t do guilt
It was only there for a moment before disappearing again, swallowed up by other phrases and the next song, accompanied by the next song and the roar of the crowd. But I was momentarily stuck there, feeling an overwhelming sense that God was trying to tell me something.
That moment never really disappeared for me. Perhaps because I wasn’t entirely sure how to work through what it was suggesting.
