5/23/20 Micah and Vanessa (see HERE)
During a gospel outreach conversation at the park with a young
man named Micah and his girlfriend Vanessa, I asked what he thought our purpose
in life is. Interestingly, he turned my
question around and asked what would be the purpose of heaven and hell? How would you answer him?
He asked because he views life as being more about the here and
now – how we live our lives in this present world – and less about what happens
afterward. It’s a noble sentiment and I
hear it often, but its almost always expressed by people who are very sure,
though they don’t often admit it, that if heaven and hell do exist they would pretty
much have heaven locked in by virtue of their inherent goodness and/or good
behavior.
In fact, part of that perceived virtue lies in the fact that
they live for this world and not for some heavenly reward or to avoid punishment. Micah, for his part, was essentially questioning
why heaven or hell are even important.
Why worry?
How about you? How
important is it to be sure of heaven?
Paul advised us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. Jesus told us that wide is the road that
leads to destruction and many are on it, and I’m pretty sure that if they knew
where it was leading them they would find the nearest u-turn or exit ramp and
turn around immediately.
Jesus had help from someone who told people they were
heading in the wrong direction. His name
was John the Baptist and he told people “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has
come near.” They needed to repent of
their sins and believe in Jesus to avoid destruction, and so do we.
In answer to Micah’s question, I went off on a theological
tangent instead of relating this simple truth.
I guess I felt like I was imposing on a young couple’s walk in the park
and didn’t want to relate such a hard truth.
But that doesn’t make it any less true, and I should have been more up
front about it.
Heaven and hell are full of meaning for people who know they
don’t deserve heaven but rather the punishment of hell. It should cause us great fear as we consider
where we would be without Jesus, and motivate us to share the good news of the
Gospel with others.
Thanks, Micah and Vanessa, for allowing me to record our
conversation! It can be seen HERE at https://youtu.be/PjLHViZ0faI
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