Even after years as a Christian it doesn't necessarily impress itself on your mind that a firm faith in bliclal theology presents a picture of this life in this world as leading to only one of two options at death, a blessed hapypy life for al eternity or a mserable life for all teternity. That's it, no other options. People who kow little or nothing about Christianity have their own notions that come from who knows where, about a happy afterlife for all but the most evil people or some such, or simple loss of all consciousness forever, as if one had never existed at all. MaNY DIE IN SUCH EXPECTATIONS. oFTEN SURVIVORS OF A RECENTLY DECESASED RELATIVE OR FRIEND SPEAK OF HIM OR HER AS BEING AGT PEACE, IN A BETTER PLACE, WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST EVIDENCE THAT THE PERSON'S LIFE WAS LIVED FOR EVWEN HALF A MINUTE WITH ANY SUCH AFTERLIFE IN MIND, NOT A SHRED OF PREPARATION FOR SUCH AN AFTERLIFE, OR EVEN BELIEVF IN IT. oNCWE IT HITS YU THAT THE cHRISTIAN OPTIONS ARE THE ONLY OPTIONS IT BRINGS A SHUDDER OF FEAR FOR THE PERSON WHO DIED, OR AT LEAST IT DOES FOR ME.
tHIS IS OF COURSE WHY WE ARE EXHORTED IN SCRIPTURE TO BRING THE GOSPEL OF SALVATON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CA, SO THAT AS MANY AS POSSIBLE CAN SEEK AND FIND THE HAPPY AFTERLIFE THAT COMES ONLY FROM THE SALVATION GIVEN THROUGH THE DEATH OF cHRIST OJ THE CROSS. bUT MANY REJECT THE GOSPEL OF COURSE, AND MANY OTHERS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT. qWE CAN'T DO ANYTHIJG ABOUT THOSE WHO DOH'T KJOW EXCEPT SEND MINSSSIONARIES WHIC OF COURSE THE CHURCHES HAVE DONE SINCE cHRISTI'S CRICIFIXION, AND OTHERWISE TRUST THAT gOD WILL DO THE RIGHT THING FOR SUCH PEOPLE WHO NEVER HEAR, AND WE KOW THAT gOD CAN NEVER DO ANYTHING buT THEW RIGHT AND JUYST AND MERCIFUL AND KID TGHING SO WE CCAN SAFELY LEVE IT ALL TO hIM,. bUT THOSE WHO REJECT THE GOSPEL AFTER HEARING IT MAY WELL RAISE A SHUDDER OF FEAR FOR THEM .
i'M WELL AWARE OF Y OWN SPIRITUAL INFERIORITY AS i SELDOM HAVE ANY IMPACT ON ANYONE i TALK TO ABOUT THE GOSPEL. i'VEW BEEN LEARNING MORE LATELY ABOUT HOW i AM NOT LIVING THE cHRISTIAN LIFE AS i SHOULD AND TRYING HARDER BUT AT MY AGE THAT'S HARD. iF i HAD BEEN LIVING MORE AS i SHOULD ALL ALONG, MORTIFYIJG SIN ISTEAD OF FALLING INTO IT OVER AND OVER FOR INSTANCE, DAILY CONSISTELTLY PRAY8ING AND READING THE bIBLE and so on, syruggling against sin instaeed of indulging in worldly attitudes, I might have more infoluence on unbeievers, but being such a rotten example of a Christian myself makes me also a rotten evangelist. I'm lately feeling thins very mournfully. So many friends and family can rightly just brush off whatever I say becaue I'm not living in ay way apprecialy different from their way. It makes me cr to think of it, but at least the Lord is letting me have an unexpectedly lo9ng life and if He continues to allow it maybe I'll improve. I'm sure I'm saved, at least most of the time I'm sure, but saved by a thread I'm aftraid, not having doe the world to strengthen my spiritual qualifies, and it hurts to think of all those in my orbit who are goig to Hell and I have no ability to do aything to persuade them out of it. In some cases I'm afraid to say anythihng agt all because I don't want to provoke anger at thew gospel, but even when I getget a polite hearer it seems to go nowhere. That is certainly my fault. I listen a lot to realy good Christian gbooks but listening is't doing and I keep goning on as if I'd heard none of it. I'm probaby exaggerating a lilttle, but not much. Every day I see so much sin I comitted oand could have avoided if I'd been walking in the spirit, wrong words spoken, or unspoken good words, stuff like that.
Yes this world is a waystation for immortal souls who should be spending all our time preparaing for it to end in the best possible way and it's scary to think how many don't. Ifg you've heard and not believed over ammay experiences of it, well, you ade your choice, but others have not paid enough attention or been presented with enough information to make a reasonable choice and say the silliest thigs about what they expect of death. Some even think they are saved algthough they haveb't the slightest notion of what salvation really means or how it is brought about. Just somethng vague like oh I haven't been such a pbnad person, of course I'm going to heaven Of course they wouldn''t like heaven if they were going there but that's anoternther subject.
You have to be prepared for heaven. GThe Christain life is a transformed life. Even when it isn't obvious it's still a transformed life it it is real. Chritiaity is the tranformation from the flesnly life of the Fall we inherite from our first parents Adam and Even to the regenerated cspirit that puts us back in touch with God that they lost when they disobeyed If you do not have that spiritual renewal, that new borth, you cannot be saved, because that is what makes you fit for heae, changes you from a merely fleshjly creature dead in the psirit, to a living spiritual person adapted to the spiritual life of heaven, though even then if the psiritual life isn't ived as much as possible in this falen world the fit isn't going to be all that great eithet and God will have to do some lopping and pruning.
Idon't think 'm writing this as clearly as I should, and I now I had the caps lock on for a long time too, sorry about that, but I think I needed to say something along these ines and hope it's helpful to someone somewhere.
faithswindow@mail.com, faithswindow@mail.com,
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