If You Were to Die Tonight...

...Do You Know Where You Would Spend Eternity?

Well-intentioned people have used this question to try to help others. At first glance, it seems like an effective way to help start someone thinking about eternity with the goal of discussing Jesus Christ- a good thing, to be sure.

But I'm not sure that this approach is worthy of Christ.

For those of you who are parents, consider this. Of course, we all want our children to come to us, to be in close relationship with us, to remain close to us. But compare these two situations. First, a child who goes to her father because she hopes to gain something she needs for herself through the relationship. Second, a child who goes to her father simply because he is her father and she loves him and wants to be with him. A loving father deserves to have his children close to him.

Hopefully, the point is clear. To tell someone of Christ and his love, but use the person's fears of the unknown and "eternity" may be manipulative even if not intended to be. And it might lead to seeking the Lord with a self-seeking motivation- to seeking the Lord for the wrong reason. He deserves to be sought and loved and obeyed simply because he is the Lord.

To be sure, with Christ there is sure hope of eternity for all who seek him with all their hearts, but that is a by product of something much deeper and even more important.

Leadership

Brother Paul,

I really enjoyed our men's meeting last night. I was greatly encouraged by everyone present. It was well worth the drive.

The atomsphere of freedom and respect for each others' opinions is truly a blessing! (not to mention the nice meal!). And the love shared by all the brothers was evident all evening.

You are to be commended for your leadership. It is Christ- focused. And your leadership brings and allows freedom for each of us to be who we are- at the same time as encouraging us to focus on Christ and his Word.

Responsibility

As the culture around us becomes more and more odd and divorced from simple reason and truth, it will become easier and easier for Christians to stand out, and thereby draw others to the Christ just by being who we are (and who he has made us to be).

The concept of personal responsibility for one's decisions and one's life has undergone major renovation ("Please excuse our mess- we're renovating!").

But the changes have been somewhat selective. We all still generally want the other person to be held responsible- that hasn't changed too much. However, the iconic American Individual will not be held personally responsible for his own personal decisions and actions. "Nothng's my fault!"

The Truth

The truth is not something we look up in the library, or on Wikipedia, or even something that the Ivy League professors can tell us. The truth is a person.

Politics (As Usual)

In 1980 I voted for Ronald Reagan. He was anti-abortion and it seemed like the ruling allowing abortion could be reversed. For the next twelve years he and George Bush, Sr. were president. After eight years of a democratic president, we have had eight years of another Republican, anti-abortion president. But abortion is still legal and flourishing, and no one really believes that it will be outlawed any time soon.

A lot has changed since 1980, including my views on some things. I no longer believe that the conservative social agenda that many republicans seem to support will amount to anything, in terms of real change. I still believe that our society is going in the wrong direction, but I now think that the Republican party has taken us (Christians with a conservative social agenda) for a ride for our votes. Maybe they never intended to help; maybe they did, but just couldn’t pull it off- either way the result is the same.

Don’t make the mistake of trusting in political means to achieve spiritual ends. It doesn’t happen that way. Politics isn't the answer to the problem- it's part of the problem.