Life on Memorial Day

In our little corner of the Keystone State, Memorial Day is celebrated with a parade and a community picnic. Scheduled between these two events is a somber, respectful service complete with bag pipes and invocations. Neighbors and public officials come together to memorialize those who gave their lives as they served in our nation's military. It is a day of community and fun, but not without a moment in which we remember the purpose for which this day was first consecrated. 

Death and dying is, of course, a grievous thing to consider --even on a long sunny weekend. Far more grievous than that, however, is the condemnation due each one not in Christ. I don't think we talk about that nearly enough. When we die, we all receive something. That something is based on the criteria we chose while alive. Jesus makes it very clear, the only criterion for gaining eternal life is living for Him (John 14:6). Anything else we choose --living for ourselves, living to please others, living to earn money, living to get whatever we can get from some benevolent source in the sky, the gods we serve and worship as we live our life on earth --these are what will present (or what will be presented before us) to gain entrance to heaven. And they are going to be found seriously lacking. Anything, anyone other than Jesus will not make us right with God and save us from hell. Like it or no, accept it or no, that's just the truth revealed to us by the righteous and holy God of which moral law is a reflection. Finding ourselves enemies of God is cause for eternal condemnation.

I've often had difficulty contemplating God's justice, particularly when it comes to condemning folks to hell. I mean, read these verses promising what will befall the enemies of God and His people:

...from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:29-30)

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

As much as folks might get under my skin, as much hurt as I have suffered at the hands of others, do I really want this for them? And my loved ones who have rejected God, can I love the God that will send them to hell? Can I accept that part of this God --the just part --that results in so much pain? Scripture tells us that, as believers, we not only must, but we will:

The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. (Psalm 58:10)

Proverbs 11:10 says there is jubilation when the wicked perish! Psalm 98:4-9 paints a picture of the celebration that will occur when the Lord judges the wicked, condemning them to eternal death. And Psalm 137:8-9 says happy is the one who dashes against a rock the children of those who have mocked God and persecuted His people. This hardly seems like the same God that tells us to love our enemies.

The truth is, as hard as this is to accept, to define God as anything other than just is to define another god, the god of our liking. The Scriptures say He is just, and vengeance belongs to Him. Everyone gets what they are due: those in Christ receive eternal reward; those who have rejected Christ receive eternal damnation. Jesus is the ONLY Way. And rather than asking what sort of God would condemn my daughter or my best friend or my imam to hell (the answer, by the way, is a just, holy, righteous, and preeminent God), we should be asking, what kind of God would He be if He was not just? What kind of God would He be if He let some folks slide despite their refusal to follow Jesus? Look at some of the leaders who have authority in our banks, our organizations, our country. They show favoritism and vote themselves raises while others suffer; they are unjust. Is that a God we can respect? 

And who would serve a God who does not punish the wicked? Don't many of us complain about our justice system in this country? How could they let a person with that many DUIs behind the wheel of a car again? How could the woman who murdered my sister receive such a light sentence? We want the wicked punished. We need the wicked punished. 

How can anyone serve a God who does not have a strict policy for admission to relationship with Him? What if the goalposts were always moving? What if He never revealed what He requires through His Word? God's judgment is completely fair. All we must do is read it and believe it. It's there in black and white.

And what if He had never sent His Son to die? We would all end up getting exactly what we deserve without a Redeemer, without a Way made for us to be reconciled with God! We would all be judged based on our own insufficient efforts. The real question here probably should be, why would God make a Way? 

Believers must celebrate God's justice. To refuse that part of His character is to refuse the God who is defined in His own words. And as difficult as that may be, given the consequences of His judgment for many, it is justice nonetheless --the justice of a God who has provided an opportunity for everyone to be found on the right side of His judgment and receive eternal life.