“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Julian of Norwich (born c.1343), English Christian mystic

Might it be that the good news for all mankind is that eventually everyone will love everyone and that we will all live an abundant life?

There are many who believe that all will eventually be well, but few books put forward ideas as to how this might happen or suggest plausible reasons why there is currently so much suffering in the world. We have enjoyed thinking through the logic of love (we believe love created, sustains and will reconcile everything) – it is a deeply enriching subject to dwell upon. Whilst some of our thoughts are unique, many of the ideas are as old as the Christian gospel – some even older. Both of us come from a Christian background, but the message of our books is relevant to all. No person is left out in our vision of the future. We believe that what is to unfold is for the benefit of everyone.

We have set out our vision in the book Hope for Everyone and its prequel Emerging from the Rubble. Using a storyline with a range of fictional characters, these books present our ideas in what we hope is an engaging format. The rationale behind many of the statements and implied beliefs in these books, however, could not be fully explained within them, so in this short booklet we set out more details of our understanding of the logic of love.

We agree with Julian of Norwich, but how is it possible to believe that all shall be well? We look at our current world and see death, destruction, disease and immense suffering. And if that wasn’t enough, there are those who believe that judgement and eternal punishment await most people after death.

Is there really a way that we can be confident that all shall be well for everyone?

We believe that such confidence requires the following to be considered true:

Behind the creation of the universe is an intelligence with attributes that humans can recognise despite defying definitive description.

There is an overall plan – a trajectory for what has been created and what is to come.

The universal intelligence has the power and desire to bring about a good outcome for all those who have been and will be created.

As humans, we all have the potential to experience and express love in its many forms.

We accept that many people do not believe that an intelligence lies behind the creation of the universe. We respect this view but hope that the suggestions put forward in this booklet will still prove thought-provoking and of interest. For us, personally, we look at the wonder of nature and the ‘miracle of life’ and can do no other than believe that the universe was designed and has a purpose. Our aim is to describe our understanding of that purpose and to encourage hope for the destiny of each person.

We believe that the character of the intelligence that created and sustains the universe was accurately revealed by Jesus when he walked on this Earth. Jesus told us that the creator has the character of a good and loving father. Through his actions and words Jesus gave humanity the first completely accurate depiction of the characteristics of the one who created everything and is above all things. One of Jesus’ followers summarised his message as ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8b).

It is inconceivable that a God of love, a good and loving father to all, would not do everything possible to ensure that the children he has created eventually enjoy an abundant life, however long that might take. We believe that God is powerful enough to achieve his desire and we have conceived a vision of how he might bring this about.

It is our hope that this booklet will serve as an introduction to the general theology of Ultimate Reconciliation and to our particular view, which we call Progressing Reconciliation. This booklet is a ‘starter’ that puts forward our main beliefs and points to some of the reasons behind them, without being exhaustive.

Unlike many other theologies, we do not believe that it is essential for a person to hold a particular faith before they die. Although we feel that many benefits can be found in exploring these beliefs during a person’s current lifetime, we do not want anyone to feel pressurised into following our suggestions. We believe that Jesus will ensure that everyone will be reconciled and enjoy an abundant life eventually.

There is so much that we could have included in these pages, but to do so would have created a huge and daunting tome. Instead, if you would like to explore further, please take a look at our recommendations for further study and other resources that we have put together on our website at www.loveaboveallthings.uk.