What is the measure of one’s Christianity, of one’s devotion
to the way of our Lord? How do I know if
I am indeed following the way of Jesus?
How do I know, to put it in vague and often misunderstood terms, how
good a Christian I am?
Wise people have been searching for such a measure since
Jesus walked physically on this earth, and since long before then if we take in
the full implications of Jesus as God.
While the search has been fruitful, the results have been disappointing,
or at least frustrating, because there is no ONE
measure of one’s devotion to our Lord.
Instead, there are many yardsticks by which we can tell if we are
following the right path.
One of my favorite such measurements, despite (or maybe
because of) its being one of the scariest is the following:
How do you, or how will you, react to the news that heaven
is going to be populated, to a large extent, by people you vehemently disagree
with on some very important issues, don’t like in the least, and/or you simply
can’t stand being around?
If you are a card carrying conservative Republican, you are
going to be sharing heaven with a lot of card carrying liberal Democrats, and
vice-versa. If you are adamantly, unshakably
pro-choice, you are going to be sharing heaven with plenty of people who are adamantly,
unshakably pro-life, and vice-versa. If
you are a staunch defender of the 2nd Amendment, you are going to be
sharing heaven with a lot of people who wish that Mr. Madison had taken the day
off when that amendment was written, and vice-versa. If you are white and don’t like blacks moving
into your neighborhood, you are going to be sharing eternity with plenty of
blacks, and vice-versa. If you are
Catholic and think that only those who follow Rome
are going to make it past St. Peter, guess what? There will be a LOT of Protestants in
heaven…and vice-versa. And, perhaps most controversially of all for
many who share my belief in Jesus as my God, Lord, and Savior, if you are
Christian and are absolutely convinced only Christians go to heaven, you are
going to have plenty of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and people of no
particular faith as neighbors for eternity.
(See my 11/14/12
post, YOU MEAN NON-CHRISTIANS DON ’T GET
TO COME TO HEAVEN?, http://insightfulpontificator.blogspot.com/2012/11/you-mean-non-christians-dont-get-to.html) And if you are any of the aforementioned and
are convinced that Christians are badly misguided in our belief that Jesus is
God, you better get used to us, because we’re going to be living with you for
eternity.
If you are a Bear fan, you’re going to be keeping company
with plenty of Packer fans in the Great Upstairs, and vice-versa. If you get misty-eyed whenever you get within
100 miles of South Bend, I almost hate to break it to you, but there will be
plenty of Trojan, Spartan, Wolverine, and Crimson Tide fanatics in the seats
next to you in the Great Stadium in the sky, and vice-versa, and John, Duffy, Bo,
and Bear will be sharing the assistant coaching duties with Knute and Frank. And, perhaps the worst news of all to many
of my friends, if you are Sox fan, there will be plenty of Cub fans passing you
your Old Style down the eternal aisle…and vice versa. Finally, and one that hits home, those of us
who simply cannot stand being around people who pay scant, if any, attention to
their personal hygiene will find ourselves with plenty of heavenly neighbors
who think nothing of skipping the toothbrush or the shower for days on end. (But, Lord, I hope that part of the admission
drill is an eternity long ration of soap, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash,
etc. and a quick lesson their proper, and frequent, use!)
Simply put, God doesn’t look for ways to exclude people; He,
or She, looks for ways to include people.
The last thing He, or She, wants is to be separated from any of His, or
Her, children for ETERNITY. What parent
would even want to consider, let alone be pleased with and/or seek, such an
outcome? While many of us think we have
all the answers, none of us has the answer as to how God can forgive so
magnanimously and welcome so enthusiastically and how He, or She, considers
matters we think so vital or mere quibbles over arcane and ultimately
meaningless doctrine, preferences, or prejudices…
“…as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our
transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
and
“For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8
Very importantly, perhaps especially for us Christians, is
that God was speaking to believers
when He, or She, said these things through the psalmist and the prophet. S/He was pointing out how far His or Her
thoughts are from those even of believers,
and how he forgave the transgressions of believers,
which presupposes acknowledgement that believers do indeed commit
transgressions.
That God is so inclusive and so forgiving should be very
good news for all of us. But many of us,
if we are honest with ourselves, do not like the idea of sharing heaven with
“those people,” whoever they may be, who don’t “deserve it,” like we do. I would bet heavily, if I were a betting man,
that just about all of us have this attitude; the only question is the matter
of degree to which we have it. The
extent to which we have the “You mean they’re going to be there too?!!!”
attitude is the extent to which we have work to do if we are to get in line
with God.
Indeed, that God is so inclusive and so forgiving should be
very good news for all of us, especially
for those of us who, in our hearts of hearts, don’t like the idea of His being
so inclusive and forgiving…because we are neither inclusive nor forgiving.
