On Death

[Kat Kanning]

The recent death of a friend left me thinking about the fleeting nature of our lives here on earth.   We all die.  We all lose loved ones to death.  But if you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? 

The Bible tells us "all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked."  So who is a sinner?   Sin is breaking God's law.  Most people, if asked, would say "I'm a good person," but are you a good person by God's standard?  God is perfectly pure and holy and just.  He can't be in the presence of sin, so when we sin, we create a gulf between ourselves and God.  The Ten Commandments tells us, "You shall not murder."  Jesus clarified this by saying that anyone who hates his brother is guilty of murder.  Again from the Commandments:  "You shall not commit adultery. "  Jesus told us that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has committed adultery with her in his heart.  Have you ever stolen anything...regardless of the value of the thing stolen?  That would make you a thief in God's eyes.

So if you had to face an angry God on the day of wrath, would you be guilty or innocent in His eyes?  God is just, and therefore cannot let murderers, thieves, adulterers go unpunished.  Death is the only payment for sin.

God is also merciful.  We have all sinned...every single one of us earned God's death sentence.  But he sent his only son to pay the price of our sins.  Jesus paid our fine.  All we have to do is repent of our sins – tell God you're sorry for what you've done, and do as God tells us to do, and you can spend eternity in heaven instead of hell.

God created the world.  He created us.  He gave us life, food, pleasure, a beautiful place to live.  He 'owns' us.  He could wipe us all out with a word, and that would be just, but instead, he gave us a chance to do the right thing.   Look around at the creation- it is so incredibly complex.  A God who could do all that deserves our worship and obedience.

Death is right in our face, and Jesus' return could be at any moment.

[Pat K]

Man I hope you ain't knocking on peoples doors
early on Saturday mornings with this stuff.

[Kat Kanning]

That's a good idea.  How can I rest if I don't warm people of the wrath to come?

[Pat K]

The Wrath of Kahn would worry me more.

[Tom Sawyer]

It's nice to think there is more meaning to our existence.

I think that I'll just rot in the ground.

My legacy is carried on in the hearts and memories of the people I effected, and the deeds that changed the world around me. To act as if there is a god above, is probably beneficial.

[Kat Kanning]

Well, if I were to make up something comforting, it sure wouldn't be this.  There's nothing comforting about the death of someone who's rejected God.  But, I'm neither making this up, nor 'acting'.

[Jim Johnson]

I am certain that you know whether Lloyd would have agreed or disagreed with you on your posts here.

In times like this we reflect on the past and postulate on our future; we seek comfort from our inevitable demise.

[Russell Kanning]

Lloyd was usually amused at my way of thinking, much of it stemming from my ideas as a Christian. He never understood how I could be as happy as I am usually. He used to try to temper my enthusiasm but always supported me under heavy critism or if I was down.
He was a good friend to so many of us.
But both Kat and I are worried about his eternal state and wish we could have helped more.
I dont know exactly what he thought death held but definitely did not live as though God was in charge of his life.

[Becky Thatcher]

So Lloyd was a good, supportive, and tolerant friend...but you think God will consign him to burn in hell?

Wow.  No wonder he didn't want that God in charge of his life.  I don't either.  That God is a jerk.

[Kat Kanning]

I don't know what's happened to Lloyd.  But the Bible is clear:  If you do not repent, you will perish.

Let me try again.
God created the world, the universe, people, everything.  He has the right to decide what happens here.  Like a good father, he set down some rules for people to keep them safe, happy, etc.   Those rules basically amount to loving God for what he's done, and loving each other - so don't steal, lie, murder, fornicate....these aren't nice ways to treat each other.  God's justice requires that lawbreakers be punished.  Imagine I went into court for the murders I committed.  I tell the judge, "Yeah, I murdered those babies, but in general, I'm a good person, so you should let me go."  It wouldn't be justice for the judge to just let a murderer go, even if he gave to charity and was a good neighbor. 

God's plan was the Garden of Eden.  He gave people a paradise, but said there's just one thing you shouldn't do.  So of course, people had to do it.  God gave us all sorts of chances to do the right thing.  He gave us a conscience to know that murder, rape, stealing, etc. is wrong.  He created Heaven and can decide who he wants to spend eternity up there with him.  I gather he doesn't want to spend it with people who can't appreciate what they've been given, and what's been done for them.

Whether you believe in this God that you're calling a jerk or not, this is the reality of it.  Repent or perish.  Unbelievers will still face God on judgment day, no matter what they think about God.

I used to think just like you.  I went around telling people that even if there was a god, I wouldn't worship him.  It was for similar reasons.  I couldn't understand how god could let such bad things happen to nice people.  Now I understand.

It's like a kid - his father tells him the stove is hot, don't touch it.  The kid then has intellectual knowledge that the stove is hot.  His dad leaves the room, and the kid decides to test whether or not the stove is really hot.  He touches it and gets burned.  Now he knows through his experience that the stove is hot.

Russell told me that there aren't really any Christians but foxhole Christians.  You don't get there except when you're broken and can't find any solution but to take that leap and trust in God.  That's what happened to me, but I can only tell you.  I can't give you the experience.  I could tell you that I'm happier, that I'm a new person, but that isn't really important.  Loving and obeying God is just the right thing to do.  Repent or you will perish.

(sorry if the typing is bad, typing in the back of a bouncing truck is tough.)

[Becky Thatcher]

Damn, Kat.  How much of that kool-aid did you drink? 

[MaineShark]

God's plan was the Garden of Eden.  He gave people a paradise, but said there's just one thing you shouldn't do.  So of course, people had to do it.

Two specific people.  Genesis 4 is quite clear about the existence of other people in the world.  Else, who was Cain worried would know of his guilt and kill him.  Or, for that matter, how did he go and live in some other land, if that other land did not already exist?

He gave us a conscience to know that murder, rape, stealing, etc. is wrong.

How about sociopaths?  They literally do not have a conscience.  Did God create them without one, out of some sort of malice?

[Jim Johnson]

I'm standing outside your foxhole.  There is no war going on; no machine guns, no bombs.

Your fear is in your mind.

[Kat Kanning]

lol Becky   

Man, I'm going to miss Lloyd.  It's hard to believe he's really gone.

[Becky Thatcher]

Yeah, I'll miss him too.  It sucketh verily.