Today, as in the days of Moses, we have two choices always set before us: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him” (Deuteronomy 30:19ff). The choice, life or death ”” heaven or hell, is ours to make, in every living moment, and to our dying breath.
God never says, “Love me or I’ll kill you.” “Love me or you’ll burn in hell.” Rather, he describes the consequence of not choosing life: “You will surely die.” This already is true in our daily lives: Just look around.
Sadly, many choose such hell, and for two apparent reasons. First, the way to paradise, to heaven, to communion with God, is narrow, and few are they who find it. True life is work. It means crucifixion, forgiveness and endurance. It is definitely not the path of least resistance!
Second, since the devil is so clever, we are often quite well-convinced that hell is actually paradise.
God never says, “Love me or I’ll kill you.” “Love me or you’ll burn in hell.” Rather, he describes the consequence of not choosing life: “You will surely die.”
Unconditional love. What a lovely thing.
[i]Sadly, many choose such hell, and for two apparent reasons. First, the way to paradise, to heaven, to communion with God, is narrow, and few are they who find it.[/i]
Oh, no, Father, didn’t you get the memo from the ECUSA? It’s a big tent thing. Really. Almost universalist.
[/sarcasm]
Great essay. One that I will be copying & pasting & sending to many.
Bryan it is not unconditional love. It is free and available to all, but it is not unconditional.
[blockquote]Consider this story: A man dies and is permitted to take a preview of both heaven and hell to choose his eternal lifestyle. First, heaven: a peaceful, bright place. The antiphonal singing of the angels is impressive; the landscape, lush and serene. “Not bad,” the fellow notes.[/blockquote]
Sadly the rest of this joke works only because this is a typical view of heaven. We, as Christians, have to work much harder to dispel this medieval view of “heaven” which sounds just so … boring!!! No wonder it’s not attractive and no wonder we resort to scaring non-believers into heaven with threats of eternal torment.
#4: You are entirely right, and this picture of heaven has often annoyed me greatly. Where did it come from? BY the time Dante made heaven into a shining rose, the image of heaven as a place of Psalming Spiritualities or Uncommon Dullness was obviously well developed. Now, to be sure, we have not the faintest idea what heaven is like since Christ tells us virtually nothing, so why the utter uniformity? Is it that our imagination works well with hell because hell favors individuation but fails with heaven because the notion itself is sheerly inconceivable? Larry
How sad that most Anglicans like other Christians have not read the imaginative space trilogy by CS Lewis. It is brilliant, scriptural and does not contradict anything that I understand of orthodox Christianity. One will never think about God, space, heaven and hell the same again!
Fr. Parkers describes a hands off God who evidently offers salvation to those smart enough to make the correct choices. Whatever happened to ” Remember, you did not choose me, I chose you”, and “my Grace is made perfect in weakness” ?