This title is not stated as a threat or with any glee. It is written with trembling knees, a heart full of prayer and sincere desire that anyone reading it may find Life and NOT perish. The title is simply the statement of three facts which I will address in three blogs. Though Jesus spoke much more about the Kingdom of Heaven, we would be remiss if we skipped these subjects that He and the Bible address.
Fairy Tales
Some would like us to believe in fairy tales; happily ever after endings without consequences for wrong behavior. Or at least, let’s provide some context which makes wrong choices understandable and tolerable since the villain had it so rough. So Wicked becomes a Disney retelling of Sleeping Beauty that makes Maleficent an unfortunate victim of her circumstances. Romulans actually are nice guys, just with slightly different means of expressing the same values as Federation members. Natasha Romanoff (or Black Widow) had a rough childhood; fortunately, she falls in love with a good guy and joins the Avengers. Severus Snape, the epitome of evil with black cape, boots and a penchant for scaring Potter’s goodniks, turns out to be working for Dumbledore all along. Another black-robed villain, Darth Vader is given reasons for his turn to the dark side. And the Terminator turns out to be a misunderstood robot who just needed reprogramming. Don’t we all?
So in this alternate universe Hitler would be mistreated by his dad and abused by a Jewish teacher. Stalin was a nice kid who just got involved with the wrong crowd, and Pol Pot was very poor and had to steal food to survive as a child.
Unfortunately, alternate “universes” do not exist (with no apologies to Stephen Hawking). By definition, universe means ”the totality of known or supposed objects throughout space; the cosmos.” There cannot be another “universe” that contains that totality; that is an absurdity for which there is not a grain of evidence except in the minds of Star Trek viewers like Hawking.
Not Innocent, Only Incompetent
We are the product of choices we make throughout life, beginning with infancy when we want the blocks the other baby has. Shortly after most children master “Mama,” most also learn “Mine!” Children are not innocent; they are simply incompetent. Given the power, the mass of them would eliminate any opposition with a flick of Potter’s wand and simply kill anyone that prevents them from getting their way.
You and I were like that! We had to be taught that there were better things than getting our own way all the time. Most of those lessons were learnt through experience, the best teacher, but hardly the kindest.
In The Great Divorce, C.S.Lewis illustrates these choices among those who refuse Heaven because of what they want. From the dishonest intellectual to a greedy materialist; from a religious hypocrite to a self-deprecating egomaniac; from a mother who preferred to drag her child into hell rather than forfeit control to a tragedian who loved his own misery rather than accept joy that was offered. “Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven.” (Milton)
There are those who will choose their own way rather than God’s way even at the pain of death. And from their choices will come every kind of evil from murdering unborn children to killing the elderly who no longer “contribute to society” to justifying what once were considered perverse lifestyles. Like Lewis’ Ghosts they will couch their evil in beautiful sounding words like Social Security, Affordable Care, For The People, Toleration or Government Protection, but what they really want is selfish aggrandizement, physical comfort, control of others and power for themselves.
Can’t We All Just Be Nice?
Evil is real and it does not go away just because we try to be “nice” to each other. Real love is much harsher than the pablum pop psychology puts out today. If a neighbor’s house is on fire, would we be “nice” and say, “Let’s not upset him; wait till it’s convenient to tell him?” NO, the “loving thing” to do would be to bang on his door, disturb his “peace,” and warn him to get to safety! So it is that if we fail to warn people of the reality of evil and its consequences, we are simply “nice neighbors” who do not care if our acquaintances die.
Trying to be nice to some people is like appeasement of Hitler just prior to the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. There was a madness sweeping Europe and the Fuhrer was simply its pawn. This does not excuse him of the war’s atrocities, but remember he was as deceived as those he was deceiving (See 2 Timothy 3:12-13), an evil-doer going from bad to worse.
Paul had this to say to his protégé pastoring in Ephesus:
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
And again some time later:
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.” (2 Timothy 3:1-9)
Children of the Day
We are called to be light in a darkening world, salt to a rotting, tasteless culture (Matthew 5:13-16). The times will become darker yet, as political leaders lie more, as religious conviction becomes labeled “Hate Speech,” as bureaucratic alignments for economic and national interests bring together enemies of Israel, as whole societies “call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:8-30)
However, though evil is real and becomes more evident, we are called “to walk in the Light, even as He is in the light.” (1 John 1:5-9) We must stand distinctly apart from liars and deceivers who say, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:13-15) And we pray for the deceived that they may see the Truth (Ephesians 4:18-19)
The Children of the Day recorded this song back in 1979 based on 1 Thessalonians 5:5-9.
When your heart is dark and empty and new shadows start to fall;
When cluttered fears and sin are the writing on your wall;
Your confusion and your doubts are always lurking left and right,
Don’t try to drive the darkness out; you just turn on the light.
We’re the children of the light, and we’re the children of the day.
We need not always stumble in an ever darkening way.
Though the darkness will close in around with shadows everywhere,
Still Jesus Christ is in our life, the Light of the world is there.
Next week, , I will discuss what Jesus and the Apostles taught about hell. It’s not pretty.
G.K Chesterton
Rare indeed is more than one intermezzo blog between my usual Saturday’s. But with the CCP virus still keeping us homebound and with beautiful snow again layering on the ice outside, and with a friend’s blog (
How can we grow old gracefully? By this I mean that you can live at peace, gently interacting with others, eat enough food to stay healthy, wear clothes that are adequate for your weather, sleep quietly in a safe room, and rest from the trials of life.
When Isaiah saw the angels around the throne of God (