Heaven, Hell, Questions

I remember years and years ago engaging in those kinds of debates that have been going on for as long as the Church has been around:

·      Will everyone go to heaven?

·      Is there really a hell?

·      Will people who don't believe in Jesus get to heaven?

·      If God is love, how could anyone be sent to hell?

You know the debates?  I thought you might.  And I think those kinds of questions are important ones to think through, to wrestle with, to consider, to discuss with others.  When we do that, we focus and clarify our own beliefs about God, about love, about grace, about forgiveness, about eternity.  That's important - even vital - to do.

However, of course, we never will fully answer those questions.  Why?  Well, they are questions about eternity, and we're still on this side of the proverbial "veil." And also, we're not God!  It is God who is both Judge and Redeemer, Creator and Savior, Comforter and Lord.  And I'm normally content to leave all such questions to the competent and gracious care of the Almighty!

So no, I don't know definitively about all the implications of what it means to say, for example, that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  But what I do know is that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life for me... and I have my hands full trying to be the person God created me to be, the person whom Jesus loved and for whom Jesus died and rose, the person whom the Spirit called at my baptism and strengthens me each day.  I can't bother spending my time worrying about everyone else's journey through life; I can only be faithful myself, and reach out in love, witness, compassion, and service to others about how Christ has affected my life.

I love how W.H. Auden wrote about this in his Collected Poems (ed. by Edward Mendelson, Random House, 1976):

"He is the Way.

Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness,

You will see rare beasts and have unique adventures.

He is the Truth.

Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;

You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.

He is the Life!

Love Him in the World of the Flesh;

And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy."

What I know is that Jesus Christ is Lord of the world.  What I know is that Jesus Christ is my Lord, too.  And what I know is that Jesus Christ still lives, which our journey through these continuing weeks of Easter reminds us.  So I still sing for joy at the Easter acclamation:  Christ is Risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!