Getting It Backwards
PREACHER: “Do you know where you’re going to go when you die?”
ME, BACK IN THE DAY: “Do I look like I care?”
Something that occurred to me shortly after I was restored to my faith in Christ Jesus was that the preachers had it all backwards. Their message was dependent upon a presumed fear of eternal torment after I die. It never occurred to them—assuming they thought about this at all, which I doubt—that for most people capital-H Hell would be a welcome change of scenery.
People without God in their lives need salvation right now, not the promise of one later. They need the assurance that God will work in their lives and make things better in real time, in real life. There are those who say Hell is simply the absence of God. As far as people suffering in their personal Hells on Earth go, those heretics have a point.
My favorite part of life in Christ is the life part. That is to say, I’ve got a life I don’t merely endure. In a world of forever wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, of fear and hatred broadcast 24/7 on television and social media, I go about my business in more-or-less peace. (At least until the next time I go doomscrolling on the Internet. Wages of my own sin there.) I see the many miracles in my life for which to be thankful. I understand that the struggle is with my own weakness, not the world. I’ve got backup, though. I only have to remember Whom that backup is, and keep Him present in my mind.
Where am I going after I die? I’m concerned for the many Hells of the here and now inviting me inside as I live and breathe. The afterlife is afterthought. If I can escape the Hell in my heart that is the absence of God in the here and now, that part is taken care of. A foregone conclusion.
The catch is this is more than saying the magic words that the preacher wants to hear so he can brag of the soul he saved later. Prayer done right is perfect meditation. It’s not magic words; it never was. It’s a connection. Clear your mind, open your heart. Make the connection and get out of the Hell you’re in now.
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