Heaven bound or “lights out”?
If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there.
—Cheshire Cat
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
From a 2020 survey of Canadians regarding their views of God, the majority think God and heaven exist and, by extension, they’re going to heaven. The genesis of these beliefs is unclear. Perhaps it’s wish fulfillment or the natural desire for a happy ending.
Many of those who say they believe in God think they’re going to heaven based upon their moral uprightness and the demands of fairness! Alternatively, and notwithstanding their belief in the existence of God, if it turns out He doesn’t exist, it will simply be “lights out” or the death of consciousness when they die.
Most Canadians have put their faith in a binary construct - either heaven bound or lights out!
In other words, it would appear that most Canadians have put their faith in a binary construct - either heaven bound or lights out! Note that neither alternative requires any action on their part other than living what they consider to be a decent life. Importantly, and by contrast, they find it hard to believe that there will be a judgment day for every person including themselves when they will face God who, armed with perfect knowledge of their lives, will judge them with perfect righteousness.
While the existence of God cannot be proved with mathematical certainty, the creation itself strongly points to the existence of a divine, all-powerful Creator and recent scientific discoveries are increasingly supporting this God hypothesis. At the end of the day, the issue of God’s existence will not be determined by our beliefs but rather by what is true. And truth is that which corresponds to reality.
In the Christian worldview, the reality of God and heaven is ultimately spiritual in nature. The navigation system that helps us find our way to heaven is the spiritual revelation found in the Bible, which declares itself to be the inspired word of God. Heaven cannot be reached based upon our opinions on right and wrong or through logical reasoning.
By contrast, the GPS in our cars uses mathematical formulae to determine the optimal route between two points that exist in the material realm. It is obviously of no use in the spiritual realm. Likewise, our cognitive faculties, while useful in assessing evidence concerning supernatural reality, cannot bridge the spiritual gap between ourselves and God, which can only be accomplished by grace through faith in Jesus.
In His love for every person, God has granted us the freedom to choose between being the lord of our own lives or making Him Lord of our lives. It’s our decision regarding which navigation system we use to inform our choice: our own sense of right and wrong or God’s declaration concerning the way to everlasting life including security on the day of judgment. In other words, “destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice” (Dale Carnegie).
As a follower of Jesus, have you lately made anyone aware of your relationship with God and their opportunity to join you on your journey to heaven? This month? This year?
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
