God’s grace does not end at the grave! I have bought into the thinking that “God is love” and so therefore, eternal torment for no purpose is perversion to me- at least a long way from love as I see and undersand love. And if the highly rigid (my perception) Amish can allow for free will and testing of one’s faith, anyone can.
In the general sense, rumspringa refers to a period of adolescence for members of the Amish religious denomination that begins around the age of sixteen and ends when a youth chooses baptism within the Amish church or instead leaves the community. It’s a time of experimenting and testing of ones faith. It’s a time when one can mix with the “outside world” and see how you stack up on the spiritual meter.
It’s scary to say the least! But did Jesus pay the price or what?
But, unconditional love at some point must allow for unconditional freedom. Of course, you wouldn’t give that to a nine year old any more than you would give a nine year old the keys to your car and say, go have fun. There has to be a foundation set and figuring out when and where that is varies to the maturity of the person. I don’t think that there is one set year or month, but guidelines. Jesus is that home base, not a denomination.
Richard Rohr said in a recent daily meditation, “God is like a good parent, refusing to do our homework for us. We must learn through trial and error. We have to do our homework ourselves, the homework of suffering, desiring, winning and losing, hundreds of times”.
Ah but we as parents and the institutional church wants CONTROL & CONFORMITY!
But the greater test is what we as parents, we as the church community do when someone fails the test(s). Will we point fingers, scold, remind them that we told them so, shun-reject them, or will we forgive and love and invite them back into our arms. A pretty important question isn’t it?
What would (did) Jesus do? 
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