Harsh Realities.
In the faith of a believer, there are many harsh realities. One as such, would be that not everyone goes to heaven. Not everyone receives salvation. Not everyone will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Today, as has happened on many occasions in discussing Owen, I was presented with a statement. An intended source of comfort that I am certain was meant well. A statement that consistently catches me off guard.
“Your son is waiting for you in Heaven.”
This is by all means a wonderful thought. A wonderful image that I wish I could convince myself was absolutely true. But I can’t. Not fully. Not wholeheartedly.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
We are all born into sin. All. Not some. Babies are born into sin. I am not saying this is fair. I am not saying I would wish this to be true. It just is. Just. God is just. If we were not all born sinners, we could never attain salvation. We must be born into salvation or born out of salvation. If we were all born into salvation, then there would be no fear. No fear of God, no fear of Hell. No fear. But there is. There IS fear. Fear of dying. Why? Because people who do not know the Lord, do not know what to expect on the other side. Because if you do not have a firm foundation of Hope in the Lord and His kingdom to come… what hope is there? I think most everyone feels there is some form of heaven or hell. Even if they do not believe in Jesus. Or God for that matter.
If, as believers, we trust that our salvation is through Christ alone and our profession of belief in His truths… then how do we justify boldly stating that God makes exceptions for infants? For children who have not yet proclaimed Christ. How can we? I see nowhere in scripture a clause that states such or a list of exemptions to the law of salvation. I see nowhere in scripture where it talks about God setting up a special room for babies when they die. I am not convinced that Owen is in the presence of our Father.
On the other hand, I am not convinced that he is in Hell either. I AM convinced that we serve a God who is loving and just. A God who has a heart for children and their naïve faith in Him. A God who seeks to do us good and not harm. A righteous God. That is the God whom I serve. The God in whom I have put my faith. And in this just God… I believe that there are many things yet to be revealed to us upon our entrance to His heavenly Kingdom. We have only a glimpse of who God is through his scriptures…
Romans8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
So I remain unsettled. I remain perplexed, saddened, encouraged, confused, prayerful, and contemplative.
This pattern of thought does not only pertain to Owen though. If Corin were to pass away today, I am not certain of his final destination either. I constantly present him with the gospel in fear of his eternity… but I am not the one who can save him. I worry for and pray for the salvation of not only him, but my brother, friends , and family who have not professed Christ as their personal savior… and even those who have, but do not bear fruit. I have a hard time as I think of people I know and love who say they believe, but there is nothing in their lives to confirm that. I have been to churches with alter calls that ask of the congregation to come forward and say “this prayer” or get “baptized” in order to obtain a place in heaven. It doesn’t work that way. You can’t just say a prayer to gain access to country clubs or exclusive memberships… the same applies for salvation. You can’t just say Jesus’ name and be cleared of all wrongdoing in your life. You have to BELIEVE. You have to KNOW that He is THE way, THE truth and THE life. It is a heart change. And if you don’t feel the Holy Spirit inside you, convicting your heart when you sin, and encouraging your heart to obey… then there might be a problem. Either there is an ignorance of the scriptures and so therefore you are ignorant of when you sin…. Which I am pretty sure the Holy Spirit could work with make you understand sin has occurred… or you are shutting God out, or your prayers are hindered…. I am not sure, I am no expert. I just know that when I sin, I feel guilt. I feel convicted and I desire to make it right… to obey God. I desire that. That is definitely not of me… because if it were me, I would do what I want and when I want. And to be honest… it would probably line up with the sinners rather than the saints.
Life here on earth is very temporary. There is no assurance of how long we have. No expiration date on the bottom of our heal that tells us when to get all that we’d like to get accomplished by. I wish.
It doesn’t matter if we have the top safety rated car, or the video baby monitors, or live three minutes from the hospital… just in case. It doesn’t matter. The plan is already in ink. And we don’t have a copy in the safe next to our wills. We only have a set of instructions… that we are to follow, and share with those who may not have stumbled upon them yet. We don’t have the power to save, but we have the power to inform.
Don’t expect that God will make allowances for those we love, just because we love them… Don’t expect. Just act. Act upon that desire to see them in eternity with Christ. Pray for them, Love them, and share in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
I will step off my contemplative soap box now.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Memorizing Scripture
Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11
Corin and I have been working on memorizing one scripture verse a week as of late. While it is amazingly beneficial for both of us, it is not much of a challenge for myself. And so I embarked upon a mission. To memorize a chapter. Yes an entire Chapter of a book. Why? Because often times I read a passage and there is more than one good verse that would be beneficial to hide in my heart. So this past week, my friend and I commited ourselves to memorizing Colossians chapter 3. All 25 verses. And guess what?! I did! It was slightly overwhelming at first, but then I decided to break it down into sections of four verses. I wrote the verses as well as verbally rehersed them for about 10 minutes each morning. Throughout the day, I would recite them again, each day adding another four verses. Soon I was barreling my way through the chapter until I reached the finish line.
Before now, I was always amazed at how some people had entire Chapters memorized, or even entire books. I now understand that it didn't happen over night and that it requires constant recitation, but it is SOOOO worth it to have God's word at the tip of your tongue! It also helps to keep your thoughts from wandering when you have an entire chapter to practice reciting throughout the day.
The take away?: I am fully convinced that memorizing scripture is going to be a new addition to my daily quiet times!
In other news:
I have been doing a little something new in my quiet times. I have been going through the book of Psalms, 5 chapters a day, and underlining verses that stick out to me. Because I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, I write these verses down in a journal and then underline important words within those passages. I then take them to the Lod in prayer, asking that he make those verses real in my life. It has been a great addition to my regular prayer life as well as enhancing my affection for the Lord and His scripture.
A recent good book I read: Radical- Taking back your faith from the American Dream by David Platt
check out some info on it here: radicalthebook.com
Corin and I have been working on memorizing one scripture verse a week as of late. While it is amazingly beneficial for both of us, it is not much of a challenge for myself. And so I embarked upon a mission. To memorize a chapter. Yes an entire Chapter of a book. Why? Because often times I read a passage and there is more than one good verse that would be beneficial to hide in my heart. So this past week, my friend and I commited ourselves to memorizing Colossians chapter 3. All 25 verses. And guess what?! I did! It was slightly overwhelming at first, but then I decided to break it down into sections of four verses. I wrote the verses as well as verbally rehersed them for about 10 minutes each morning. Throughout the day, I would recite them again, each day adding another four verses. Soon I was barreling my way through the chapter until I reached the finish line.
Before now, I was always amazed at how some people had entire Chapters memorized, or even entire books. I now understand that it didn't happen over night and that it requires constant recitation, but it is SOOOO worth it to have God's word at the tip of your tongue! It also helps to keep your thoughts from wandering when you have an entire chapter to practice reciting throughout the day.
The take away?: I am fully convinced that memorizing scripture is going to be a new addition to my daily quiet times!
In other news:
I have been doing a little something new in my quiet times. I have been going through the book of Psalms, 5 chapters a day, and underlining verses that stick out to me. Because I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, I write these verses down in a journal and then underline important words within those passages. I then take them to the Lod in prayer, asking that he make those verses real in my life. It has been a great addition to my regular prayer life as well as enhancing my affection for the Lord and His scripture.
A recent good book I read: Radical- Taking back your faith from the American Dream by David Platt
check out some info on it here: radicalthebook.com
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