“If there were no heaven,” I asked, “would you still be a Christian?”
The small gathering of high school students was quiet for a minute. They were bright, committed young people, most of them grown in the church, choosing to give up their Sunday afternoon to study the bible with me. Maybe they didn’t understand the question.
“If there were no heaven would you still want to be a Christian?”
“Is there still hell?” one student asked.
“Let’s say no,” I said. “No heaven and no hell. Do you still want to be a Christian?”
“There wouldn’t be Christians if there wasn’t heaven or hell,” he said. “Why would Jesus even be born?”
That was eleven years ago and the conversation still corrects me today.
We talked that afternoon about deism – the belief system held by Thomas Jefferson and so many luminaries of the Enlightenment. Deism is the belief that God made the world but is no longer actively involved in it. Deism is often explained using the metaphor of a watchmaker who created a watch, then wound it up and walked away. It ran without him because he designed it to.
The deist believes that God is not running the world but the world is running itself – or the world has been made by God to run without Him. God has put gears in the world that keep it running on its own: Natural laws like gravity. Moral laws given in scripture. Manmade laws like constitutions and house bills.
“…so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have inherit eternal life,” he said. “That’s why Jesus came.”
“Yes, he did. God so loved the world, every one of us, that he offers us eternal life. He loves us now and forever.”
If there were no heaven and no hell I’d like to think I’d still choose to trust God with my life here and now because He loves me. And I need to believe Someone who loves me is in charge of things down here – providing for me, working all things together for good, hearing my prayers, interested and intervening in the details of my little life. Even if it wasn’t an everlasting life. I would be loved while it lasted.
I’d like to think I’d still choose to trust God with my life even if it were finite – if there were no heaven or hell to come after it. But I confess that these days I’ve often lived like a Christian deist. As if God makes no difference in my life today, as if He’s not involved. As if, like the watchmaker, God has walked away, only to be seen again at the end of time. I find myself often talking, behaving, (not) praying as if God isn’t interested or even present. That is until the watch doesn’t seem to be ticking to my advantage and, well, then…
God, forgive me for thinking the world runs itself. Or that I do. Forgive me for forgetting that you offer abundant life along with eternal life. Forgive me for celebrating and weeping without you. Right now, for this moment, I choose to trust you.
Beth says:
I’d like to think I would too.
Beth
Kris says:
I am guilty of this as well. Thank you for this truth, and for the reminder… it matters because he has NOT walked away. (even if I do sometimes)
Krissy says:
You need to meet Carl Medearis. (I desperately want him to come speak at our church.) Did you read this?:
http://tinyurl.com/44oxekj
NancyTyler says:
King of Heaven, Lord of grace
I lose sight of You in this busy place
And look past, sometimes, Your ready hand
Outstretched to guide through this broken land
that in error I think must be my home
And that I must navigate alone
The joys, the fears, the in-between
Unshared with a God forgotten, unseen
But who’s faithfully calling until I remember
My purpose, my Savior, my soul’s defender
Thomas says:
Thank you, Nancy, for sharing this.
Thomas
Gina Martin says:
You have NO idea how much I needed to hear exactly this today. As my family endures a time of grief, I can feel God’s peace and comfort, yet I still tend toward feeling like I have to do it all myself. I have to pack, I have to plan, I have to prepare, I have to placate others, I have to I have to I have to…
Thank you for the reminder that no matter what, God IS present. He IS involved. He IS God, and there is none like him.
Sally says:
The question reminds me of an old Andre Crouch song, “If Heaven Never Was Promised to Me” — the chorus says,
“But if heaven never was promised to me, Neither God’s promise to live eternally. It’s been worth just having the Lord in my life. Living in a world of darkness, You came along and brought me the light.”
The world is so dark without Him. Yes, I would still be a Christian.
FzxGkJssFrk says:
Great song.
Thomas says:
I live my life way to many times as though the world runs itself. It is one of the reasons that after reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts that I started my list in hope of seeing God in all things and learning to trust God in all things.
Thomas
Jonny says:
When people give testimonies they often talk about the moment God entered there life in relation to the day they were saved. I want God to be in my life everyday, affecting and changing the way i live my life. I don’t want him to change the end of my story but the entire plot before hand aswell.
Sarah M. says:
Ooo, good post! I would like to say that I would as well. The Word is still full of plenty of reasons (His love as well as many others), and commands (to love the Lord your God…) that we shouldn’t ignore. How can one truly love God without knowing Him in a real and personal way? I want more of Him! More time with Him! Even if Heaven weren’t promised, I say I’d still choose to pursue Him.
kit says:
Good stuff to think about! Thanks!
JessicaB says:
Way to lay a deep question in my lap at 11:41 at night.
Melissa Jones says:
I would think that bad things (extended and/or terminal illness, death of a loved one, etc.) would be harder to endure without the hope of heaven.
When I was overseas (with the potential for kidnapping, death, etc.), I always figured that it was a win-win-win kind of situation – God would keep me safe (win), He would get me through trials (win), or I would go to heaven (win)!
It seems to me that without the hope of heaven, it would be harder to live without fear.
Tj says:
Amen, to your prayer.
Zoë says:
What a very timely post! Shows how much God does care about our little lives. I am going to share this with my husband. We have been going through a very tough time. He has a job interview tomorrow that would change our lives if he got it. I think he is taking all the burden on his own shoulders, and as I clicked on this link I was wondering how to help him hand it all over to our intimate, loving God, who cares about the little things (and, for me, how to really let go and let God be in charge of ALL of it).
Regarding the deists, I can’t comprehend the belief in a God who created everything and then walked away. It seems so heartless. It would mean God walked away from the vulnerable and the hurting, ignored the smallest of the small . . . What makes Jesus so amazing is that those are the very ones he drew close to him, showing those around him that he cared deeply about the weakest, holding the smallest up as examples. Not only that, but he took on the tremendous burden of sin and suffering, God become man, for our sake. Jesus’ death on the cross shows us how much he cares for our intimate being, wanting us to experience and know his great love for us. And we, in turn, share this Great Love with others, through Compassion, etc.
Thank you, Shaun, for making me think about all this.
Lisa H says:
This is exactly what I’ve been struggling ith the last few weeks. Thanks for your honesty in sharing where you ar too!
MJ says:
I stopped reading at the question. To love one another, to leave judgement out of the earthly journey, that is enough reason for christianity to be practiced here in this lifetime for me.
Now I’ll return to finish reading your post….and likely eat humble pie! Humble pie; maybe that is a little hell and heaven mixed together 🙂
Amber's Articles says:
I am currently riding in the car discussing this with my husband. It is very thought provoking, so thank you .
I have a blog post idea that I may post as a spin off to this one. I think it would be interesting to get the opinions of many different types of Christians on this question
Matthew W says:
Hmmm… Though I sorta agree with the sentiment, I think the biblical response would be this:
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
1 Cor. 15: 13-14, 19
Shaun Groves says:
It’s a hypothetical, Matthew.
Way to dodge the question ; )
Dave says:
Wow, what a thought-provoking question!
We’re big about talking about our “relationship with Christ”, but without the reward at the end, how interested would we be in such a relationship? Doesn’t our answer to that say a lot about where our relationship really stands? Am I just sucking up to the “popular guy” because I think I’m going to get something out of it? Or do I really want his friendship?
When you take away the “insurance policy” aspect of Christianity, the focus on what we’re doing now, with _this_ life, can lead to some uncomfortable revelations about us. Instead of spending each day “hanging on” until the Lord comes, it’s suddenly all about DOING something with today, because today is a one-time opportunity.
Come to think of it, that’s true whether there’s a heaven at the end or not.
So, what will I do with today….
Sarah Chia says:
Perhaps part of it is to see what Jesus said about what eternal life actually is. A lot of times, we talk about it as something that starts after death, but Jesus says in John 17:3 —
“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
So, hypothetically speaking, if God had set it up that we didn’t continue to exist after our physical death, the eternal life that we would experience on earth would still be amazing.
Eternal life is for now just as much as it’s for heaven.
I’m in.