What Do We Love?
The other day I
came across a television show on the topic of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The host was an evangelical Protestant and
his guest was a former Jehovah’s Witness.
It was a show that took calls on the air and one particularly fascinated
me.
A young man called
in with some question that I’ve forgotten.
What was interesting to me was the dialog that followed between the host
and the caller. After answering the
question, the host asked the young man if he was a Christian, to which he
responded, “No.”
His explanation was
that although he suspected Christianity was true, he “really enjoys the sins of
the world.” He went on to explain that
he was living unchastely with his girlfriend, and had a particular affinity for
alcohol.
The host then asked
him if he ever thought about what might happen after he died. “Occasionally,” the caller responded, “and to
be honest, it terrifies me.”
I found the call
uncharacteristically honest. Few
non-Christians acknowledge that Christianity is, in fact, true. And even fewer would admit that by
intentionally rejecting what they know to be true, eternity becomes a fearful
idea.
I wondered about
the caller. Surely he was capable of
measuring time against eternity. Does he
really think the passing pleasures of the sins to which he is attached outweigh
the eternal consequences of his actions?
The host responded
by telling the caller that though living as a Christian is not easy, it results
in joys, even in this life, that are far greater than the empty promises sin
has to offer.
In the end, though, it comes down
to love. The caller intellectually
understood that Christianity is true; he even intellectually understood the
consequences of his refusal of Faith.
But he did not love Jesus; he loved sin.
(God willing, he will not die in that state.)
It has been said
that when we die, we are given what we loved during life. Frank Sheed, in his masterpiece Theology and Sanity, says, “We are saved
or damned according to what we love. If
we love God, we shall ultimately get God: we shall be saved. If we love self in preference to God, then we
shall get self apart from God: we shall be damned.”
Because man is made
for God, the latter scenario, though we would get what we love, causes unending
torment and emptiness. The same is true
in this life –the host of the show was right – the difference is that here sin
often comes with a pleasure that distracts us from its horror.
Most of the time we
can not convince people to trust us that the Christian life is better than the
secularist life. They can see for
themselves that it is harder; it requires a strength of character and a
willingness to sacrifice that secularism does not. And the joys have to be experienced to be
fully understood.
Fear of hell may be
a motivating factor for some people.
Jesus Himself was willing to use that – He loves souls and wills them to
be saved by whichever means. Perhaps
intellectual honesty is enough to cause some men who come to see that
Christianity is true, to follow where it leads them.
But when it comes
down to it, I suspect most souls will be saved by love. We, Christians, have to show people the love
of Christ. And we have to be bold enough
to be sure they know Who is the source of that love. Many hardened sinners, when they encountered
Jesus, fell in love with Him and turned their lives around. Many still do. One can not encounter Jesus without offering
some response. And one can not encounter
authentic Christianity without offering some response. It is still love, Divine Love, Christian
love, that conquers the world.
