Scanning the morning news recently, I saw that there were a few "celebrity" death notices. Richard Simmons, Dr. Ruth, and Shannen Doherty. All once celebrated for something earthly, all now dead.
It struck me that so many people tend to speak of the recently dead as if all their sins were washed clean. People tend to try to redefine was death is for their heroes. Someone said about Richard Simmons that he hoped he was "twinkling up in the heavens." Uh, that's not how it works.
Another habit people have when speaking of the dead - celebrated or not - is to talk only about their brightest qualities. Suddenly, everyone forgets that a person might have been a horrible friend, co-worker, or spouse. The dead are always known for "lighting up a room" or some such thing. Don't get me wrong, while I don't want to be known too soon for lighting up any rooms, I also don't want only my flaws to be remembered when I die. I just want people to stop pretending that Heaven is the destiny of everyone. People who don't even believe in God suddenly assume that their deceased celebrity friend or hero is "singing with the angels" or playing in some heavenly band.
As a Christian, I know that anyone who dies - no matter how good or horrible they might have been in life - spends eternity where they truly belong. There are, I am certain, going to be a lot of unexpected residents of both Heaven and Hell.
Though I never lived a horrible life or was a horrible person, I know that I belonged in Hell before I accepted salvation. I know that there are people who seem to live saintly lives who will be in Hell.
The dead don't belong in Heaven because of their well-lived lives. No one belongs in Hell because of their crimes and mistakes. Heaven is the gift Jesus offers to those who accept his salvation. Hell is the reward for those who refuse that gift. It is that simple.
I'm not gloating or being cruel when I talk about the celebrities I mentioned. I don't know where they are spending eternity. I don't know what was in their hearts. I just know that it's important not to put human opinions above holy truth.
Because I am no Bible scholar, I like to refer friends with questions to the very useful Got Questions. Here are some answered questions for those who wonder about eternity from a biblical viewpoint:
- Why is being a good person not enough to get you into heaven?
- Who will go to heaven?
- Why doesn’t God save everyone?
- How can I guarantee my eternal destination?
- Did Mother Teresa go to heaven?
- What is the difference between religion and spirituality?
- Know that it is good to have questions. The Bible teaches faith but not blind faith. Christians are exhorted to be able to give a defense for their faith. (I always point people toward the Bible and study resources.)
- When considering Christianity, don't look at Christians (who are as flawed as anyone else), look at Christ. Who was he really? What proof against him do you have?
- Study the Bible for yourself. Study it as you would any other document or historical record. If you believe in other historical figures based on historical evidence, why can't you believe in Jesus?
- Study secular evidence for Jesus and the Bible. You might be surprised at the amount of sources available.
- Don't open your mind to everything, but open it to facts.
- If you believe in Evolution, understand why you believe in it. What proof do you have? Who/what are the sources for those proofs? Now apply the same to Creationism.
- Be careful to not believe everything you hear or read. There are shady people everywhere - including in some pulpits.
Peace
--Free
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