cuprunsovr
Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
- Messages
- 54
This morning when I was replying to the post concerning whether or not pets go to heaven the Spirit moved me in another direction that I would like to share here. It may be because the Spirit has filled us with love and compassion, that it is our nature as Christians to always seek out the “feel good answer” or the words that will give comfort to a person or a situation. But I think there exists a grave danger in “knee-jerk” compassion and canned responses. Let me explain..
Early in my search to know Jesus there were a handful of issues and specific passages that I dwelled on heavily. One such passage was 2 Peter 2:20-21
“20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”
To me this passage amounted to a big neon sign saying “KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO – know that it’s not going to always be easy – know that who you WILL have to change – but most of all know that in so many words this is the point of no return – ARE YOU READY FOR THAT? If not it’s better if you don’t go on”. Not questions to be taken lightly and certainly absent of the “feel-good” sentiment I thought I new in Christianity. What I now know is the fine print on that sign that says
“Oh, by the way…. you will not walk alone, I love you more than you can fathom, and you will have help beyond your mortal ability, just wanted you to understand the stakes.
- God”
As I went forward with Christ, that sign became smaller on the horizon and less significant, but ahead I could already see the glow of another – James 2:8 – 11
“8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”
Wait a minute…you are telling me that smoking a cigarette is on the same level of sin as cheating on my wife? More over, because I gave some guy the bird for cutting me off, I am judged the same as a convict who has done horrible things? This is really troubling because as hard as I try I can barely go hours let alone a day without some sin and that’s suppose to be the same as my neighbor who seemingly isn’t trying to walk this narrow path? But again Christ lead me to the fine print that said “That’s why I did it – you can’t. And another thing if we are rating sin you have done some pretty horrible stuff yourself and as a result you should take comfort that it is in fact the same to me. That’s how much I love you”
So how does this all tie into whether or not pets go to heaven? (I know you were thinking that HA!) It ties in from the fact that I have gone to many funerals and offered my condolences with “He/she is in a better place….he/she is with God” without having any idea if in the comfort of their heart they had accepted Christ as their savior. And it was just wrong of me to give that canned, “Knee-jerk” compassion intended response. With regard to whether pets go to heaven or not what compassionate person is going to say they are not and crush the people that dearly love their animals. I believe that they will be in heaven but for the reasoning I explained there not the “knee jerk” compassionate response. What I want is to recognize those people that believe they will not, for going against the canned feel-good response, and speaking their truth as they see it.
There is a danger in just giving the “warm and fuzzy” response because on this walk I have found that “Truth” is not always easy.
Early in my search to know Jesus there were a handful of issues and specific passages that I dwelled on heavily. One such passage was 2 Peter 2:20-21
“20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”
To me this passage amounted to a big neon sign saying “KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO – know that it’s not going to always be easy – know that who you WILL have to change – but most of all know that in so many words this is the point of no return – ARE YOU READY FOR THAT? If not it’s better if you don’t go on”. Not questions to be taken lightly and certainly absent of the “feel-good” sentiment I thought I new in Christianity. What I now know is the fine print on that sign that says
“Oh, by the way…. you will not walk alone, I love you more than you can fathom, and you will have help beyond your mortal ability, just wanted you to understand the stakes.
- God”
As I went forward with Christ, that sign became smaller on the horizon and less significant, but ahead I could already see the glow of another – James 2:8 – 11
“8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”
Wait a minute…you are telling me that smoking a cigarette is on the same level of sin as cheating on my wife? More over, because I gave some guy the bird for cutting me off, I am judged the same as a convict who has done horrible things? This is really troubling because as hard as I try I can barely go hours let alone a day without some sin and that’s suppose to be the same as my neighbor who seemingly isn’t trying to walk this narrow path? But again Christ lead me to the fine print that said “That’s why I did it – you can’t. And another thing if we are rating sin you have done some pretty horrible stuff yourself and as a result you should take comfort that it is in fact the same to me. That’s how much I love you”
So how does this all tie into whether or not pets go to heaven? (I know you were thinking that HA!) It ties in from the fact that I have gone to many funerals and offered my condolences with “He/she is in a better place….he/she is with God” without having any idea if in the comfort of their heart they had accepted Christ as their savior. And it was just wrong of me to give that canned, “Knee-jerk” compassion intended response. With regard to whether pets go to heaven or not what compassionate person is going to say they are not and crush the people that dearly love their animals. I believe that they will be in heaven but for the reasoning I explained there not the “knee jerk” compassionate response. What I want is to recognize those people that believe they will not, for going against the canned feel-good response, and speaking their truth as they see it.
There is a danger in just giving the “warm and fuzzy” response because on this walk I have found that “Truth” is not always easy.
