Where will you spend your eternity?

If there is one thing man has been given by God amidst many is freewill; the ability to choose one’s path and make one’s own choices.  Mankind has been given the volition to believe in what they choose to believe in; to have personal opinions, views and perceptions. The notion of life after death is not exempt from differing beliefs. Some believe there is life after death whilst some believe life ends in death as one ceases to exist beyond death. To mention a few of these beliefs they are: reincarnation, human and animal cohabitation in the afterlife and eternal life in Heaven or Hell.

Reincarnation believes in the cycle of death and rebirth; one dies and resurfaces as nature for example a tree, frog or donkey. The only way to escape the cycle is to dissolve into nothingness. Human and animal cohabitation believes that humans and animals continue to live after physical death taking with them their spirit body, all memories and character. Eternal life in Heaven or Hell is the belief that one dies physically but the soul lives forever. According to the life lived on earth one is judged; if it is a life lived well they are awarded eternal life in heaven and if is a life lived in depravity they suffer eternal damnation in hell - forever.

As I have mentioned in the beginning of the article, we have the gift of freewill. We choose our actions, words, beliefs, experiences and encounters. And today I would love to share my belief on life after death. I am well aware that most people would rather avoid the subject; some may have contravening opinions about it but nonetheless for those who may have unanswered questions or are inquisitive enough to find out or need some kind of affirmation, you may audaciously proceed reading.

Since I am a born-again Christian my belief by default is that one dies physically but the soul lives on forever. According to the life one has lived on earth they are judged by God, held accountable for their thoughts, speech and deeds. If their life was lived in absolute obedience to God’s word, standards and statutes on earth they are rewarded with eternal life in heaven. But if their life was lived in rebellion, depravity, denouncing the power and existence of Christ and living independently of the statutes of God then they are cast into hell - eternal anguish. The general argument with this is, “how can a God that professes to love mankind be so cruel enough to destroy man in hell?” Honestly, this is another topic on its own, answering it needs dedication. But to counteract that for now, I will pose my own argument. “How can a God professed to abhor mankind; detested for annihilating man in hell be loving enough to send His beloved Son on earth as an atonement sacrifice to redeem the very man from their sins so that they may be reconciled unto God being rewarded Sonship and eternal life in heaven?”

1.             Heaven

We are often singing songs in hymn books or in contemporary praise & worship about heaven but rarely explore it as a subject. Who dwells in heaven, what is heaven like, who gets to go to heaven? According to Isaiah 66:1, heaven is the throne of God; it is where He dwells in all His Sovereignty. Sure we know that right? So who gets to go to heaven?  There is said to be an elite set apart and predestined for this majestic kingdom – but not quite so. To a certain extent this account may hold true; heaven is set apart for an eminent group though distinguished in an unlikely manner. Matthew 5: 1-12 asserts, “Blessed are the poor in spirit (the humble who rate themselves insignificant) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God… Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness (for being and doing right), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Contrary to popular belief and misconception, heaven is not for the proud, the rich, the witty, vain, the “I have it all figured out”, the elite, the worldly accredited, the renown, the venerable nor salient but it is for the lowly, the humble, the lost, the unloved, the persecuted, the rejected, the undesirable and the least. Christ came from heaven to earth to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth; for the lost to be found, for the unloved to be loved, for the persecuted to receive grace to endure, for the rejected to be embraced, for the undesirable to be beautified and the least to be uplifted. This kingdom is accessible to anyone and everyone in condition they become born again; through the confession of Christ as Lord and Saviour and the fervent pursuit of a life that emulates Christ. Now for some such a life is too confining, rigid and bridled. Christianity feels like a rubric (rules) established by God to enslave humanity. Unfortunately, this is what Christianity has been reduced and misconstrued to be: a set of rules that have to be met to please a God in order to evade punishment.

To obviate such a notion, it can be stated that the true essence of Christianity is a love relationship between God and His people; it is founded upon adoration, empathy, sacrifice, patience and endurance. Like two people in a relationship; they empathize with each other, sacrifice for the benefit, happiness or wellbeing of the other, learn to be patient with each other and endure life together in all circumstances. Similar reference can be made to our relationship with God/Christ. He loves us; all mankind, it does not matter the race, background, status and gender. God sent His son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to redeem us from eternal damnation and disconnect from His presence. He loved us and sacrificed His ONLY son for our salvation. In turn all that is required of us by God is to reciprocate that love by sacrificing our time, efforts, our being; giving ourselves wholly to Him like we’d give ourselves to our better halves. Until one understands that Christianity is a love story and a love relationship between God and His people whom HE created by the way then Christianity will be defined as a confining, rigid rubric.

As we all know, actions have consequences alongside the choices we make. The Law of Cause & Effect can be mentioned in this regard. It averts that all actions have consequences and produce certain results. The choices made (the cause) whether conscious or unconscious produce corresponding outcomes (effects). This Law is not far from the principle of the Bible stated in Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” We have been given freewill by God to choose what we want to believe in; how we want to live our lives but at the end whatever choices we have made have a ripple effect. The ripple effect of choosing to embrace a life that is centred in Christ is eternal life which exceeds physical life – Heaven, and the ripple effect of choosing to rebel and abjure the love of Christ and His power to redeem and deliver is eternal anguish – Hell.

So what is Hell like, who goes to hell and does hell even exist? This question will be answered in my next article. I haven’t even touched on the gist of this matter which is, “Where will you spend your eternity?” This was just an introduction, laying a foundation. I hope this has not just been a good read (if it was one) but a thought provoking session. “Where am I with God right now?” “Am I in right standing with God?” “If I am not saved, do I want to be saved?” “Do I believe in heaven, eternal life and eternal damnation in hell?” “If I were to die right now would I be sure to know where I would end up – Heaven or Hell?”

Much love; be blessed.