I find it strange that the letter writer would turn to Dear Abby rather
than a pastor to ask about God’s policy on entering heaven. However, what I
really grapple with is the fact that she has a pastor and a church…and that the
wording in the Bible is hard to understand.
Paul may not be as socially sensitive as Dear Abby, but he certainly is
not hard to understand. “Do you not know
that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes
nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor 6:9-10
NIV)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----I hate to say that I don’t find this question’s posing to Dear Abby to be so strange. I would think differently if not for the fact that just a bit of shopping around would turn up a number of preachers giving her one answer or the other. We could blame it on the Bible’s being hard to understand if not for the fact that life is hard to live, yet people still live it.
-----The problem is that people don’t have to understand the Bible to live life. And people are lazy, either physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, or in any combination thereof. Corners get cut somewhere always, because life just throws a seemingly overwhelming number of corners at us. We tend to think Jesus was perfect just because He was. But He was perfect because He did not cut corners since He was not lazy in any way. He worked hard to square up every corner of His life. The rest of us think we’re doing pretty well if we have some food to eat, something to wear, a place to stay, and some fun to have, so we round off the rest and take a nap.
-----When we apply strength and concern to squaring up the best we can as many of our lives’ corners as we can, we set in motion attitudes which have the strength to understand as much of the Bible as we need for doing well and knowing the Lord. The Bible is beyond our understanding in its deepest spiritual implications and meanings, but it is crystal clear upon its surface of fundamentals for anyone who desires clarity in their hearts.
-----Therein could be the Dear Abby letter writer’s problem. Nobody wants their child to spend eternity in pain and anguish. So we can round off that corner by ignoring the Bible’s truth regarding it and live in peace for a short spell while thinking we know the Lord. Intellectual laziness will fail to understand this as placing God’s Word on trial in its own court. Frightening situation!
-----But when faith grasps His Word as truth, understanding takes a different turn. People we love who yet indict God by what they claim to be innocent make burdensome corners in our lives for us to square up. It takes hard effort to maintain the truth about God’s Word and hold up true love for those who defy it. Possibly they will come, too, by the effects well squared corners make, and possibly they will flee. God’s promises to the individual is not about the more desirable of those kinds of possibilities. It is about the certainty of the one possibility promised to that one individual. All other possibilities require hard work.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment