The Afterlife

In case for some reason you aren't familiar, it is basically the traditional view of.. at least Evangelical Christianity that everyone falls into one of two camps- either they are headed for Heaven or Hell.

I struggle with this delineation.  I don't think it's as simple as that.  And let me tell you why.

First of all, I had a friend named Blaine.  I say "I had" because he passed away in 2014.  Now I bring up my friend because he... he had a severe handicap.  Not just that he was wheelchair-bound, but that he lacked fine motor control over his movements.  His life, from what I could see, was at least a bit more difficult than average.  He had, in at least some respects, a hard life.

And yet my friend, who had every right to be bitter and unhappy, exuded a positive attitude.  He was a good guy, and a decent friend.

I don't believe I ever talked to him about faith.  Honestly I didn't see as much of him as I would have liked.  We weren't super close.  But I knew him well enough to respect him.  And when he died, many many people came to his funeral.  He left a large wake in his stead.

My impression of him is that he was not a Christian.  Should I then believe that he has moved on to everlasting torment?  See, this is where I disagree with the traditional view of Heaven and Hell- I don't believe my friend Blaine is living in unending torment, simply because he didn't make Jesus Lord over his life.

That does not mean I believe my friend is in Heaven.  I do believe Heaven is reserved for those that have a relationship with God.

I do think that if most of Hell is not a place of everlasting torment, that my friend could be there.  If Hell is more like how CS Lewis described it in The Great Divorce, then I would say that it might make sense for there to be no middle ground place where people who are neither fit for Heaven nor deserving of Hell, because then Hell wouldn't be that bad.  Don't get me wrong, Hell is not the most exciting place to be in The Great Divorce, it's just... kind of a dreary place, that is substantially worse if you happen to be more messed up, like Napoleon for example.  In The Great Divorce, Napoleon is miles and miles and miles away from everyone else, and is spending eternity pacing the floor up and down blaming other people for his misfortune.  

Regardless, I don't believe most people are going somewhere where the torment is that bad.  I just... don't.  There are people who definitely belong in eternal torment in my opinion, though I'm no master judge I suspect Hitler will be judged harshly.  I also suspect the average child molester will be judged for not committing suicide rather than molesting a kid- suicide is INFINITELY better than molesting a child.  Don't get me wrong- it's better to seek out treatment.  But if one is feeling propelled to molest a kid, they would be better off killing themselves.  I digress.  The thing is, I do believe some people belong in Hell.  Who exactly that is I can't say for sure, for only God knows the hearts and minds of everyone.  Most people, in my estimation, belong in neither Heaven nor Hell but a third place, like Purgatory only you never leave.  I don't believe anyone ever leaves their eternal destination, or what was the point of being tested on Earth?  Maybe God has some kind of long term goal of redeeming everyone from the places like Purgatory and Hell.  It certainly would follow my understanding of God's heart if he did.  But also there must be justice for those of us who chose God while alive, passed our tests while alive, and lived by faith.

It is interesting to me, the differences in opinion.  I have a friend who has accepted what Jesus did as salvation, but it doesn't seem to me that he has Jesus as lord over his life.  It's more like... fire insurance.  I don't believe that kind of faith is worth much.  You can't accept what Jesus did on the cross and then just decide to live however you want, like Jesus is giving you carte blanche to live however you please.  I don't believe salvation was supposed to work that way.  I think salvation was IN PART about saving us from sin, to give us power over our vices so that we can live righteous.  What's the point of being saved from your sins if you're just going to live a sinful life?  This kind of fire insurance... I don't think God has a high view of it.  Anyone who lives like this is not destined for Heaven.  You can't use God to get Heaven and not live in relationship with God, which was the whole point.  Jesus died on the cross so we could live in right relationship with God, not so we could go our own way.

I don't know what God's plan is exactly for judgment.  I just know that God is just, and that he doesn't want to spend eternity alone.  Honestly, I'm skeptical that many people will be in Heaven.  I think it's hard to get into Heaven.  I know, that flies against Christian teaching.  We teach "if you accept what Jesus did on the cross as propitiation for your sins then you are going to Heaven."  It's not that I believe that works are what get you into Heaven.  It's just... you have to have a heart that's right before God and live in relationship with God, and most people don't have a heart that's right before God and live in relationship with God.  I just think the path of righteousness is a hard path, and few take it.   I hope today you will think about how you live your life and make a decision to draw nearer to God, to put away sinful thoughts and actions, and surrender completely to your maker.  I do believe there is grace.  But you have to surrender to God to get it...

You Don't Have to Know the Truth to Drive the Spiritual Car that is Faith in God

 I was having a conversation with my friend about faith in God, and after he left I had an epiphany.

My friend is a little like a guy who goes to a place that sells cars and tells the salesman "I'd like to buy a car, but I won't be willing to drive the car unless I understand how the internal combustion engine works."

Now, can the average person understand how the internal combustion engine works? No.  And yet in spite of this, many, many people drive cars around with very little idea of how internal combustion engines work.

I can say definitively that the Christian faith WORKS.  It works, and it works well.  Basically, everyone in a twelve-step group testifies to it working- the twelve steps are basically the Christian faith with Jesus and God stripped from it.  That is not an oversimplification- the founders of AA were Christians who were trying to use their faith to help addicts.  So the Christian faith does work, and apparently your god doesn't have to be The God for it to have an effect- though having your faith be in the one true God probably does help.

I know how to make faith work for someone.  You just have to be willing to fast and pray.  God will do the rest.  That is how to insert the key into the "spiritual car" and turn the engine over.  If you're patient the car will eventually start, and God will show up.  God can do miracles in people's lives if they'll let him.  But only if you give God a chance.  You don't have to even be a theist for this to work.  It works for anyone who is desperate and willing to go to the Nth degree to have God.  "I will be found when you seek me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13

Poker Analogy

 I want to make an analogy based on the game of poker.  It's a bit involved, so bear with me.

In poker, people tend to think that the person who wins the pot is the best player.  They think that the best player is the one who is constantly winning pots.  Here's the real question- what happened in that hand that they won?  Did they get lucky?  How did their opponents respond to their play?

You see, the best player isn't necessarily the one who wins the most pots.  In fact, if a player is very lucky, they can win the most pots simply because they are dealt the best cards.  The best player in poker is the one who induces the most errors in their opponents.  You can induce a lot of errors in your opponents' play and still lose.  You can make the best plays and still end up with nothing.  You see, because in poker the person who wins the most is not always the same as the person who plays the best.

God calls us to view life as sort of a poker game.  There are some who are very lucky, getting dealt good hands over and over.  God doesn't evaluate us based on the cards we were dealt.  God evaluates us based on the plays we make with the cards that we are dealt.  So if you've been dealt a crappy hand, don't despair- you can still be great in the kingdom of Heaven.  If you've been dealt good hands, don't rejoice- you may not be nearly as good a player as you think you are.  You may just be very "lucky", which isn't essentially worth much in the Kingdom.  We must all strive to be good... "players", in the sense of maximizing the hands we are dealt, and not worrying about the fact that someone else seems to constantly be getting better cards than you.  Trust me.  God knows the difference between the ones who are just lucky, and the ones who are wise in how they maximize the cards they are dealt.  Being righteous in spite of the difficulties life gives you- that is how to be a Kingdom person in a world obsessed with appearances and obsessed with being number one.  We must learn to think in Kingdom ways, not as people of this world who are focused on getting ahead, but focused instead on how to bring glory to God.  For that is how you play your cards in the Kingdom of God.