Okay. The title is misleading.
I finished reading Rob Bell’s Love Win last week. I liked it. For me, it made sense.
I do believe that heaven and hell are very real. I firmly believe in the existence of Satan and in hell. I also firmly believe in heaven. But at some point in my life, at some point in my theology, I just had to believe that in the end, God has the ultimate say. God is the Judge. The Judge shall decide our fate. Not me. Not you. God. Jesus.
I am reminded of the Parable of the Workers, where the last to hired got paid the same amount as the first ones hired. Or the thief at the cross.
But. Here’s what gets me. Here’s why I am more inclined to think the way that I think more than the traditional belief of who goes to heaven and hell.
Take a moment to watch this video:
I don’t know what his faith is. But let’s assume that he isn’t a Christian.
Now, compare that to these people:
These people are fueled by their belief in God. And they would probably tell you that Jesus is their personal Savior and that they’re going to heaven.
So. They are going to heaven. But Narayanan Krishnan is not? (If he is not a Christian.)
I can’t reconcile that in my mind.
Or what about the Christians who are so concerned with the afterlife, they do nothing to enhance the life of the people in this world? (A world God so loved, btw, that God sent His only Son…)
I can’t remember if it was a Tony Campolo book or Jim Wallis book, but they were sharing a story about a politician who wanted dump waste in a lake (at a park…) because he believed that Heaven would eventually come.
There are Christians out there that ignore the pains and cries of people in the world because they are SO concerned with going to heaven. So because of their relationship with Jesus Christ, they can sit around and twiddle their thumbs, ignore the cries of God’s people, ignore the suffering going down the streets of their home, listen to only Christian music, only hang out with like-minded Christians, talk about how amazing it will be “going home” … but Gandhi is in hell…?
Maybe that’s the way it works.
Who am I to say?
All I know is that, this subject always leads to arguments…
I believe that Heaven is real.
I believe that Hell is just as real.
But I also believe that God has the last say of who enters the Gates of Heaven. After all, it’s His Crib.
Therefore, I am more than comfortable focusing on doing the best I can for God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven; offering myself to be part of God’s mission on this earth- a world He so loved. Check that. A world that He so loves.
Joseph Yoo 