Heaven

 

I do not preach from Newsweek, but two articles of recent (1997) publication caught my attention. First, I saw the cover on the news stands which asked the question, "Does heaven Exist."  Then while searching around on AOL, and then I ran into the Newsweek article about faith and Carl Sagen’s Death By Jerry Adler. (Newsweek 3/31/97 Society/Unbeliever's Quest)

 

Questions of heaven and the resurrection are still current news, and yet they have been tossed around for way over 2000 years. Jesus was questioned on the subject by those who did not believe. (Matt 22:23-33) That same day the Sadducee's, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife. Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead-- have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

 

Of Carl Sagen's death it was  quoted from his wife "No appeals to God, no hope for an afterlife, no pretending that he and I, who had been inseparable for 20 years, were not saying goodbye forever." Didn't he want to believe? she was asked. "Carl never wanted to believe," she replies fiercely. "He wanted to know." In this Carl Sagen chose not to believe.

 

As much as I am touched by there goodbye, and their desire to "know," I couldn’t help feel that it  also speaks of an arrogance that many non-believers possess. They are somehow convinced that they deserve to have scientific proof, and if they can not know, they will not believe.

 

Though there is much we can know by honest seeking and listening to the words of Christ, the bible does not answer ever question. Jesus did not answer ever question. He did not claim to answer every question.  He asked people to believe, and in that faith to find life.  He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)

 

Do you believe it?

 

I do because I choose to believe. I don’t believe in spite of scientific evidence, I believe partly because the scientific community is discovering new things every day, and if I wait for them to find the proof, I will likely run out of time. I choose to believe even though all my questions are not answered. What do you choose?

 

I hope your will choose to believe.

 

I hope you will choose life everlasting.

 

But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear head… the things which god hath prepared for them that love him. I Cor 2:9