The Most Serious Thought Experiment

Take some time with this. Take this opportunity to think deeply about this most important thing. 

Imagine that you just died. Now imagine Eternity.

 Maybe you were important enough that the news broke into regular programming. Maybe you were so forgotten on earth that there was no obituary at all. Maybe those of us still alive don't even know that you have died. 

Now you stand before God, facing eternity.

God only asked that you forsake other "gods" and idols. He asked that you believe. He gave you proof of His being. You could look around at nature and the wonders of life and know that He is. 

Maybe you didn't hear about Jesus but you knew that everything that is did not come from nothing. You saw a newborn child, opening their eyes for the first time to see this world. You watched that child come out of the womb, knowing how to breathe and think and wonder. You saw the child learn language and numbers and time. Maybe that told you of God.

Maybe you did hear about Jesus. Maybe you knew and believed but you never finished reading the Bible so you didn't get every detail of what he sacrificed. Maybe you did.

Maybe you were of a brilliant mind and studied the maths and sciences. Maybe you decided that you didn't believe in God because of all that you learned. Maybe you decided that there is a God because of all that you learned.

Maybe you were never very smart. Maybe you never learned to read or write or count. But maybe you still knew of God. 

Maybe you were wealthy and privileged to enjoy every material thing. Maybe you were only well off, or comfortable, or maybe you were poor. 

Maybe you woke up every day, healthy and eager to live. Maybe you struggled with depression or pain or all manner of suffering.

Maybe you were loved by a lot of people, celebrated and lauded and envied. Maybe you just went through life as one of the many people who garner no special attention.

Maybe you were beautiful or handsome; tall and thin, big and robust; shapely and attractive; short and stumpy; ugly of face and plain of body. Maybe you were deformed or crippled or blind or mentally challenged. 

Maybe you were always happy or always sad or just simply living with no expectations of this world.

Maybe you were a good person - generous and kind and loving. Maybe you were a great father, son, wife, husband, or daughter. Maybe you fed the hungry and clothed the poor. 

Maybe you went to church often. Maybe you served in the church you attended. Maybe you never cursed, smoked, drank, took drugs, committed adultery or committed sexual sins. Maybe you were more "moral" and upright than most people who claim to be Christians. 

Maybe you were a good Buddist or Hindu or Muslim or Mormon or Roman Catholic. Maybe you were a committed Mason, Scientologist, or a non-affiliated member of society.  Maybe you never ate meat. Maybe you obeyed all the laws. Maybe you were a good citizen.

Maybe people respected you in your career. Maybe you invented life-saving equipment; discovered life-saving medicines; or found new ways to help people live healthier. 

Maybe you conquered the world with your voice or your intellect or your cunning. Maybe you were charismatic or ruthless or powerful or a titan. 

Maybe you never did anything outstanding or special. Maybe you were un "under-achiever", a "loser", a "slacker", a "drain on society". 

Maybe you traveled the world and saw every wonder on earth. Maybe you slept in fine hotels and dined on meals prepared for royalty. Maybe your home was palatial and luxurious. Maybe cars and airplanes sat ready at your command. Maybe you lived on the streets or ate from charity, or wore clothes thrown out by others. 

Maybe you donated money to open libraries and schools and maybe your name is on buildings of good reputation. 

Maybe you shouted praise from the rooftops or whispered prayers in your heart. Maybe you cursed God eloquently or defied him in the dark.

Back among the living, some might be wishing that you rest in peace. But they can't be sure. But you will know. Eternally.

Some might be wishing that you had a moment to ask forgiveness. But they can't be sure. But you will know. Forever.

Some might believe that they know you are safely in a peaceful rest. But they can't be sure. But you will know. Always.

No one can be sure what is in your heart but God. The God you believe in or the God you rejected? The God you challenged or the God you prayed to? The God you chose or the God you turned away from?

No one here on earth can be sure. But you and God will know because whoever you were, you are now dead. And you stand before God, facing eternity.

Will you be thankful for the rest you have earned? Will you be frightened of the consequences of your beliefs? 

You are dead and facing eternity. What will your eternity consist of?

For those of us still alive, we have time - if only this very moment - to think and to be sure. 

Don't reject what you haven't carefully considered. Don't turn away from what you cannot dismiss with certainty. Don't discard out of anger or hatred. Don't dismiss what frightens you without knowing why it frightens you. Know why. Think, think, think, and consider.

No matter what your life is among the living, your eternity is coming. Every day that you live, prepare to be eternally not among the living. The choice you make while you still can choose will be with you for all of the rest of time. 

As you live this part of your existence, prepare for the next part - the eternal part - that is coming.

There is nothing but the blood of Jesus that will be your eternal salvation and mind. Nothing - not a priest, a church, a parent or child; not your career or talent or wealth; not your looks or abilities; not your fame or notoriety; not your social connections; not your good works; not lighting candles or praying to saints; not sitting in a confessional or being blessed by some man or woman. 

Are you sure? Of what you believe or not believe in? Are you absolutely certain? Are you willing to stake all eternity on your choice?

Peace

--Free

P.S.: It occurs to me that, as I was writing this, deaths were occurring. Deaths are always occurring. Think about that. You or I could be next.

I am praying that everyone takes the time to consider their life and their coming death. Many of us are afraid to think about our deaths. We don't want to think about what death will mean to us. We will think about what our death means to those we leave behind before we think about what we are dying into. 

We buy burial insurance and make wills and choose where and whether our bodies will be in the ground, crypt or urn. Our families will have to write an obituary or arrange a wake or memorial of funeral service. Someone will have to clean and dress our dead bodies, comb our hair, apply makeup, and make us presentable for viewing - or ready us from cremation and disposal. But that is just the flesh and bone of what is left of us.

The essential part of what we are, the part that lives on - that is the most important part. What plans have we made for that?

Please take the time to ready yourself for the biggest part of existence, what I think of as the "forever and ever" part.

Is It Spiritual?

 I just finished watching a video over on The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction's YouTube channel. The subject matter was interesting but I came away from the video with something that will stick with me forever.

At one point the channel's host commented on how we should see things. I immediately grabbed that as being really important and this is part of the hurried comment I left:

"...I will always be asking "Is it ~fill in the blank~ or is it spiritual?"  Is it politics or is it spiritual? Is it really necessary news or is it spiritual?  etc. I am guilty of forgetting to look at the world around me through a spiritual lens. Everything is part of this game - either for good or for bad."

As I commented, I have been guilty of not looking at things the way I should. And perspective alters everything.

A few years back, when the country got all up in arms (literally, at one point) over politics, I watched most of the news through my citizen's eye - and not just as a citizen but as a black citizen and a female citizen. That caused so much stress. 

Seeing things as a citizen causes me to react as a citizen. If I remember to stop and see things as a Christian, everything shifts to fit that perspective.

There is a man with a very interesting YouTube channel called Dazed but Not Confuzed. The videos are primarily about his escape from Scientology. The host seems to be so very sincere and kind that my heart aches for what he's been through and I find myself praying for him along with some other online personalities. 

This man has come out of such a tricky and insidious "religion" that I doubt he wants to hear anything about Christ. At least, not yet. I am sure that he sees everything through the eyes of someone who has been duped before.

I know another man - a longtime friend of my family's - who sees everything only as a black man. Racism is real, but this friend is so focused on the issue of racism that he can barely see anything else. If a white person cuts him off in traffic, it's "racial", if someone... Well, you get it. The wildest part is that he seems to only see white people as racist - as if they are the only race of people who don't like black people. And he is the epitome of a stereotype in one way. He has white friends, all of whom he believes are only the "exceptions" to a very hard and fast rule. It's a mirror of the whole "My best friend is black" copout. 

Now, this family friend uses racism as a reason to doubt the validity of a "white" Jesus. You cannot make him understand that Jesus is not the person depicted in those paintings people have in their homes! I remember once pointing out that Jesus was Jewish. The family friend came back with "They're white, ain't they?"

Lord, help the ignorant and stubborn.

The point I came here to make is about myself. I need to make sure that I see everything in this world with the eyes of a Christian. Every day of my life (and yours) on this earth is a spiritual battle. We should never forget that.

As a Christian, I know that a lot of what goes on in politics is spiritual. Same thing with all the manipulations of media. All this uproar over gender and sexuality is spiritual. All the distractions in the media over this celebrity suing or "beefing"" with that celebrity is a distraction. 

Half the time, we are walking around in a daze from being news-bombed. When we have a free minute to think, we are scrolling through our social media - just hunting for new distractions. 

When something is meant to turn us away from God, we should remember that Satan was bold enough to try tempting Jesus. 

Satan is a master of deception, distraction, disinformation, and confusion. We have to remember to be discerning - always.

I will close this post by suggesting you read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It's a total reminder of our daily life being under attack.

Peace

--Free

Another Interesting & Useful Site

 I really ought to post a list of some of the best Bible and Christian-related sites I know of. Maybe I already have? I will have to check. At any rate, I want to add the Carm.org site.

CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry - is a great resource for Christians and non-Christians alike. I am sure that non-Christians would find the section "Bible Difficulties" of interest. It covers topics with supposed "contradictions". Very interesting! Because every thinking person will have questions.

Under the section "Christian Theology", one will find a subsection of "Answers for Seekers". Another great resource for seekers and Christian friends of seekers.

The 2 sections I find myself gravitating to most are "Questions" and "World Religions". These are really useful when studying what other people believe or are involved in. It always helps to understand the people we are praying for.

So do check out CARM. 

I'm going to have to see if I have put together a resource list!

Peace

--Free