A typical Christian will tell you that they exist to glorify God, and that they have a very good reason to do so. For He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price in full for their sins so that they could spend all of eternity with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven as an heir to all that is His glory (or at least something like that).
Be assured that I am not here to dispute any of that, but a fairly interesting question does come to mind. For after a person comes to accept Christ Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior, they are supposed to be saved from having to pay for their own sins, which is eternal Spiritual death. Therefore, why do they have to continue to suffer the indignities of life in this world afterward?
No, I am not talking about continuing to be poor in either health or wealth, even though that may be a part of it. For what I am talking about is having to remain in this world after they have been saved from having to spend all of eternity in Hell. After all, if that is what life in this world is all about, what is there to be accomplished afterward?
Alas, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of different Christian denominations, and many of them have a different answer for that question. Some will proclaim that the reason why a saved person is required to continue to live in this world after their salvation has been secured is in order to save others while others proclaim that accepting Christ Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior is just the beginning of the process, which may continue even after a person’s time as a part of this world comes to an end.
No, there is nothing about this that is meant to unfairly demean, embarrass, nor insult anyone in any way for what they want to believe is the truth, but it should be fairly easy to see where both of those doctrines really came from. For both (in effect) are proclaiming our Heavenly Father to be a liar. After all, does He not make it clear that it is the work of His Holy Spirit to seek and to save souls [John 16:8-11], and to claim that there is more to securing our salvation than just having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is to deny that we are saved by grace—does is it not [Ephesians 2:8-10]?
So, does this mean that there is no answer to why most are required to continue to live in this world after they have accepted Christ Jesus as being their own personal Lord and Savior? No, it most certainly does not. For it is during what time we may have left in this world that our Heavenly Father can gain the most satisfaction from us.
In reality, it actually starts way before then. For everything that we are required to endure in this world is meant to give us opportunities to give our Heavenly Father the full benefit of our considerable doubts after our eyes have been opened to the truth.
Please allow me to give you an example of what I am talking about. Let’s say that you feel a great deal of gratitude (and maybe a lot more) towards the person who helped you pick up the pieces and start to live again after your spouse and child died in what you thought was a horrible accident of some kind. Now, would you feel the same way about them after it became clear that it was really no accident, and that this person was actually fully responsible for the deaths of your loved ones?
If it can be accepted that our Heavenly Father is in full control of all that happens, how could He not be fully responsible for every horrible thing that has ever happened in this world? Yes, there is a difference between making something happen and allowing it to, but He still allowed it to when He could have easily prevented whatever it was from ever happening. Subsequently, how can He not be ultimately responsible?
Back when we were first married, my wife told me that ignorance is bliss, and that infuriated me at the time. Since then, I have softened somewhat. For our Heavenly Father has made me acutely aware of the fact that most simply do not want to know what He wants them to, and I would not wish the anguish that this causes me upon anyone. Yet, it causes me even more anguish when I try to remain silent about it. Hence, opportunities to give Him the full benefit of my considerable doubts [Jeremiah 20:7-9].
No, just coming to terms with the truth of our circumstances in this world is not all there is to it. For what our Heavenly Father really wants is to have a very close and personal relationship with as many as will while they are still a part of this world.
Yes, many talk about such, but if you listen closely to what they are saying, is that what they really have? For the absolute truth of the matter truly is that the vast majority of those who claim to be walking with Jesus on a daily basis have nothing more than merely the kind of relationship that they could now have with Thomas Jefferson by faithfully studying every book that they could obtain about him and visiting the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC at least once a week.
Of course, followers of other faiths would claim that nothing more than that can be had with Christ Jesus, as well. How can anyone know for sure without being able to truly hear His voice?
Tragically, most can hear His voice, but they recognize it as being nothing more than just random thoughts bouncing around in their brain. For they have had it pounded into their heads that He only speaks through His Holy Scriptures now, but can anyone tell me which verse makes that clear?
Yes, it can be argued that if it really was that important to Him, our Heavenly Father would do something to get our attention, like speak through a burning bush [Exodus 3:1-4] or knock us down with a blinding light [Acts 9:1-19], but when He does something like that, it costs Him. For it is much more glorifying to Him when we want to believe when there are plenty of reasons why we should not.
It also costs us. For it is written: And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that His is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. [Hebrews 11:6 NAS]
Besides, none of it is necessary. For He is well able to get our attention without having to resort to miraculous spectacles [Isaiah 65:1-2], and no one will be able to honestly say that they did not understand everything that He wanted them to, come Judgment Day [Romans 1:18-20].
No, I cannot promise you that everything will be all right (in a natural sense) after you start truly having a very close and personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. For it may be for you, as it has been for me [Ecclesiastes 1:18].
Nonetheless, I can promise you that nothing will be the same anymore [2 Corinthians 5:11-21], and that you will be able to at least have confidence in the fact that your sufferings have not been in vain. Furthermore, you will know for sure that great will be His joy when the time comes for our Heavenly Father to gather all of His children by faith unto Himself to spend all of eternity with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven as heirs to all that is His glory [Romans 8:17-21].
Woe be it unto all who do not care about such things. For it is also written: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” [Revelation 3:15-22 NAS]
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