Gentleman
Somewhere in time, this last week – I was in the lunch room
at work and they play a popular news channel on the television. I was not watching it, but one commercial caught
my ear so I looked up. It was a man telling
me that America’s founding fathers wanted to restrict religion and we should
join his cause. He ended it by saying, “I’m
not afraid to burn in hell.”
I felt bad for the man.
First of all he doesn’t know enough about the history of the country he
lives in or he couldn’t make a statement like he did. The men that founded America didn’t want the
government telling people what to believe – but they did want people to be free
to worship God as they please. What this
man was proposing would limit when and where I can show my love for God.
This is the first Amendment of the American Constitution:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances.
Many times what we hear now is more along the lines of “prohibiting
the free exercise” – which is not what they had in mind.
But on to his next statement that he was not afraid to burn
in hell.
I have also heard other people say since God is love - we don’t have to worry, he won’t send us to
hell.
Here is my problem with that. God is a gentleman. He will not force people that want nothing to
do with Him to spend eternity with Him.
Only those who choose to follow Christ have to worry about an eternity
in his presence.
Romans 10:9New
King James Version (NKJV)
9 that
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For me, I confess the Lord Jesus and I believe – no I know that Jesus was raised from the dead. I’m personally looking forward to spending eternity
in the presence of God. I pray for those
who want to choose otherwise.