We close the door

One final post (well, maybe, and maybe not) about freely offered forgiveness. When I told the class last week that I thought forgiveness was freely offered to anyone and that we did not need to earn it, one member asked the following question:

If forgiveness of sins is offered to everyone, but I am not repentant, and do not accept it, then what happens when I die?

It’s a good question, and I stumbled over the answer. The answer I offered is true, but I’m sure that it did not satisfy the one asking the question. My answer was that who receives salvation is not for me to judge – that’s God business. I certainly cannot say what will happen to anyone after death.

I’ve thought about it since then (and I had thought about it before then), and while I am still not God, and cannot say, I have developed an opinion. I’m sure you are not surprised.

First of all, it is a good question. If everyone receives grace, and everyone receives forgiveness, freely given, without restriction, then wouldn’t everyone go to heaven – no judgment, no hell? In other words, do I believe in universal salvation?

I believe that God believes in universal salvation. His goal is to bring everyone – every person on earth – back to him. He has worked toward that goal since Eve took a bite of the fruit in the garden. He has not changed his mind, and he will not give up. God is love, and he cannot leave us behind.

The block for universal salvation is not God. It is us. We refuse to accept it.

Jesus died on the cross for every sinner. He died for you. He died for me. He did not die for sin; he died so that sin would die and that we would live. If the consequence of sin is death, then the consequence of his death is life for us. All of us. It is a gift, freely given.

Just as if you were to buy a friend a birthday gift, and the friend does not accept it, the gift is still a gift. The recipient does not receive it, but it does not change the nature of the gift. Forgiveness and salvation are gifts of grace, whether we accept them or not.

Thinking about this question is what prompted me to write the poem that I posted yesterday. It’s a metaphorical statement of what I am trying to say more concretely today. Think of the kingdom of God as having a door. The spirit of God ushers us to the doorway. The son prepares us to enter, opening the door. The Father invites us, yearns for us to enter. The only thing stopping us is OUR OWN judgment – our own resistance to a gift freely offered.

Repentance is necessary because it is what heals us. It is what will turn us around so that we can see God. God desires it for us, because otherwise we will miss the door altogether. Even repentance is a gift of grace – God will grant it to us if we allow him to do it.

I think we get into trouble with this issue when we set up what we think are laws to enter the kingdom of God. Can I get in if I do this or don’t do that? The door isn’t controlled by laws. It is opened by grace.

Truly, perhaps my answer at the beginning of this post is the correct one. It is up to God. It is certainly up to God. We should stop worrying about it. We can trust God. He loves us. He will do what is right for us. He will not let us go! Knowing that, go out and show other people the door. Show them the nature of God – be God’s face and hands and feet for them. Let God be God.

We need to (I think) become agents of grace, and stop trying to set up locked gates – secret passwords – criteria. Instead, we need to point to the open door and let God convince people to enter. That job is hard enough without us making it even more difficult.