Good Tuesday morning! Spring is blowing across the plains today. You can enjoy it if you can catch it. Did you know that half a walk doesn't help very much? Nope, walking out to a destination and then calling it good leaves you out in the cold and away from home. Many want to go halfway with Jesus. By that I mean that while they are fine talking about Heaven, and all the bounty that God will grant them in this life if they tithe faithfully, but they want nothing to do with God's justice and Hell. They want only half of the story.
When I wrote about the rich man and Lazarus the beggar from the parable Jesus told, we looked at the differences between the two men. But if I quote only half the parable it would go something like: Lazarus had a rough life and he went to Heaven. That sounds just right to many folks, after all we all have a rough life down here except for a few of those big-name athletes, stars, and CEO's, of course we all deserve to go to Heaven. Yes, and where do the big-name people go then? Well, if they give away enough of their fortune then they get to go to Heaven too. Right.... (said in my best Bill Cosby voice).
We know that there is the other side to the parable Jesus spoke and that both halves go together. Not only does Lazarus go to Heaven, but a certain rich man who did nothing but enjoy the bounty of life goes to Hell. Not only does the rich man go to Hell, but he asks Father Abraham to send Lazarus over to Hell to give him a little relief. There is no thought in the rich man that Lazarus certainly wouldn't want to come there, or that he might even refuse such an 'offer'. But that story Jesus told about the rich man is just too mean for a loving God, isn't it?
Mean doesn't come into the story, unless you count how mean it was for the rich man to ignore the suffering Lazarus at his gate. Mean, as in cruel 'mean', seems to be reserved for the fallen down here on earth. How we know God is to learn his justice through the condemnation of the Law. When we look at the Law, we all fail to measure up to God's standard and we all deserve what the rich man got - punishment in Hell. We need to not only realize all of God's great plan, but we need to look at the fulfillment of that plan: Jesus Christ. Paul laid it out for us in Romans: The Law condemns all of us, and Jesus redeems all of us. God in his great mercy grants us salvation through Jesus who paid the price God's justice demanded for our sin.
So, why then are we to not believe the 'feel good' ministries that tell us how nice everything will be in this life with plenty of money, great houses, and nothing but the lighter side of the Good News? Isn't everyone already saved through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus? For one thing, Jesus had a few warnings for the first apostles about what the world would do to them. Suffering was to be the lot of any who would believe in Christ and follow him. The world would hate those who follow Jesus, because the world first hated Christ himself. This last bit does not sound like everything will be sweet and soft for those who follow Jesus! We might bear more suffering and sorrow than what we would like when we accept the lordship of Jesus Christ. Since our likes are just as fallen as the rest of our earthly lives, I am glad that God keeps his own counsel on how much we can bear. Also, just because Jesus has a gift of eternal life for all those who will believe in him, does not mean that everyone will believe in Him and accept that gift. Many still believe in and count on their own goodness to save them.
A person cannot go halfway with Jesus. We accept that we are all sinners in need of salvation, and that the road through the narrow gate may be more difficult than we can imagine. We accept our call to spread the Good News, but we don't sugarcoat it by ignoring God's justice. Without Jesus, none could be saved and made right with God. There is a Heaven, but because there is a Heaven where God sits on his throne, there is also an outer darkness called Hell where God sends those who would have nothing to do with His Son. I wish there wasn't such a place, but I notice in my Bible reading that God wanted no one to perish long before I came around to wish that same thing. Looks like God is forming me to think more like His Son. Jesus hasn't returned yet because he wants everyone to be saved. Hallelujah!
Bucky
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