Heaven, Hell, Demons, and Bringing the Kingdom to Earth

Susie shared the news with us this morning that Lauren told her that Carlos Griego now claims he is no longer a Christian.  It wasn't a huge surprise.  Carlos went through a whole lot through the Redemption experinece.  Susie said she thinks he processed the experience in a isolated way rather than having a community of believers around him to process it.  That makes sense.  I think that could have made a huge difference.  

However, when you take a literal view of the Bible, then you try to think critically about whether or not it is true, you're definitely going to run into some challenging truths.  

A few of these truths are heaven, hell, and demons.  At least this is what Elijah expressed this morning with some measure of frutration with these traditional beliefs held by the church.  One argument he used is that the Israelites did not have the concept of an afterlife.  Rather they held the notion that once you die that is the end of your existence.  Maybe they beleived that your ancestors somehow kept your name alive, but that is certainly a different idea than an afterlife.  

So, what does this mean.  I think it means what you need these things to mean for you.  That is not going to be a good anwswer for many people.  Especially people who are convinced these things are real and your eternal destination really is determined by your right relationship with God through Jesus.  

But emotionally and for the health of your spirituality, they can mean whatever you need them to mean.  I need to have hope that God is there and he is listening and he is worthy of my attention and praise.  I would like to believe that God watches after me and cares for me.  What I've found is that as I draw close to God and share my heart honestly with people who love and follow God then I will feel drawn closer to God.  Also, when I spend time with God and meditate on the poetic words of the Bible I will feel a closer connection to God.  

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