Uncertainty is easily one of the most blatant plagues to the human conscience. Some of the most basic questions we ask ourselves are: “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?” For many, not having an answer to these things causes genuine depression, existential crisis, and a fear of living life wrong and dying in a manner of regret.
Philosophers have sought to provide answers of reason to these questions by looking at science as it explains the world around us. But mere science doesn’t completely answer the human’s ability to think, feel, and dream. Nor does it properly explain why we suffer, or why uncertainty is so often a source of frustration or anxiety.
No, as much as true science does its due diligence to point to a creator, there must be more than just science when mapping out the answer to why we exist.
Some intellectuals have landed on a god, while others remain steadfast that the solution to the human’s inquisitive condition is that we determine our own truth. In case of the latter, it’s often a matter of giving human beings god-like power to classify truth while still lacking god-like characteristics to enforce that truth.
And, among other flaws, sheer human reasoning will never give us an ability to know all things. No matter what we learn through studying science, philosophy, psychology, or social patterns, no amount of information will ever put an end to the uncertainties we will inevitably face in this life.
This applies to believers as well, and simply living through a day is proof of this. We face the uncertainty of job prospects. We don’t know if we’ll ever get married or have kids. If your life bares any resemblance to mine, then perhaps the way things are going right now are very different from the way you imagined them to go two, five, or 10 years ago.
Not to mention, when we are struck with tragedy, we almost never see it coming. And then we ask, “Lord, why is this happening?” We ask, we cry, we become anxious because we simply do not know. It can be utterly vexing, to say the least.
And yet, distinct from unbelievers, Christians have knowledge that helps us confront uncertainty head on in a way that allows us to have hope and often joy amid it. Truths have been revealed to us through God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit that provide answers to life’s most daunting uncertainty — not simply who we are or where we came from, but more pointedly, where we are going.
Do you know where you will spend eternity?
God Himself gave us His Word, the Bible. In this book, we know who we are: Sinners, created in the image of God, created to be in communion with our Creator. We know where we came from: We were knitted together in the wombs of our mothers by a loving heavenly Father.
We even know why the world is so messed up as Genesis 3 explains sin’s entrance into the world, tainting everything with its deathly grip. But above all, for those in Christ, we know where we are going.
One day, after we run this race of faith, we will be in heaven — a place specially crafted for perfect communion with God and fellow saints. In the new heaven and the new earth, sin will be no more, death eradicated, and pain, tears, and all the troubles of this earthly life will be eternally forgotten and left behind. What glory that is to be revealed to us!
And while I could go on endlessly about how excited I am for that kingdom to come to full fruition, there is another aspect to consider that is far less digestible. We know where believers are going, right? But excruciatingly, this means we know where unbelievers are going.
It’s the place no one really wants to talk about. Reasonably so, as it is a place of eternal torment, pain, and agony. The amount of anguish that is consistent in hell is a reality almost impossible to fathom. And yet, Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about heaven.
Written accounts of what Jesus said in each of the four Gospels make it evident that hell is a place no one wants to end up. Really, it’s no wonder He spoke of it in such detail and so frequently! Jesus wanted to be sure that those who listened were aware of the reality they would face for denying His Lordship over their lives.
But beloved, as much as we would like to gloss over the harsh reality of eternal punishment, we can’t afford to do so. Especially if we have loved ones, such as spouses, friends, or coworkers, who do not believe. While their current end is numbing to consider, it shouldn’t numb us from sharing the good news with them. In fact, it mustn’t!
You see, Jesus was able to speak about it because He was not simply addressing a problem but offering the solution. And I emphasize the word “the” because there is only one solution. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As the church, we proclaim this message that Jesus is the only way to eternal life in heaven. And the joyous truth? No one is too far gone to be a part of this kingdom. That is why we share it, no matter what.
No one is too broken, lost, rebellious, or sinful to be redeemed by the Great Redeemer. And that is what we focus on. That is what we proclaim. And by God’s grace, we have examples in Scripture.
The woman at the well had five husbands, including one other man who she was not married to. But Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah. This interaction Jesus had with a woman who was an outcast in her society proved that Jesus cares about the outcasts.
On Cavalry, after the brutal beating and mockery of Christ, His life neared the end as He was held nailed to a cross. Next to Him was a criminal. In a brief encounter, moments before death, the thief was convicted by the Spirit to repent and believe. And what did Jesus say? “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
How I wish I had the space to outline more examples of the deeply broken people who prove, as pastor Charles Spurgeon said, “No case is hopeless while Jesus lives.” I’m talking to the person whose son or daughter is caught up in the lies of LGBT ideology. This is for the person who is struggling to love the woman who got an abortion.
“Do not be deceived,” the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9b-11a, “neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
But you know what else Paul wrote? “And such were some of you.” And yet, the rest of verse 11 proclaims, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
What’s important for the church is to not pay attention to where people are at or where they come from, but that God can save them regardless of their circumstances. We ought to have a strong passion and desire to see these people saved above anything, and that is exhibited by a heart burning to share the gospel.
And when we share that message, regardless of where a person is, we know that this truth put into their hearts is where the Holy Spirit does His work.
Remember, we know who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. If you look out at the world for even a moment, what do you see? You see a world of people dying to know the answers to those questions. You have them. Now be sure to share. No case is without hope because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lives.
This article appeared originally on The Washington Stand.
