Someone once wisely said, “God looks beyond the outward appearance of a man or woman and looks at/into the very heart.”
Let’s have a deeper examination of “what we think we know” about how God sees us as individuals. This is a revelation for those with ears to hear and eyes to see. Frankie The Earthman.
Salvation in the Old Testament meant love for Yahweh alone. One had to believe that Yahweh was the God of all gods trusting that this Most High God had chosen covenant relationship With israel to the detriment of all other nations. The law was how one demonstrated that love – that loyalty. The core of the law was fidelity to Yahweh alone, above all gods. The history of Israel’s kings illustrates the point. King David was guilty of the worst of crimes against humanity in the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam11). He was clearly in violation of the law and deserving of death. Nevertheless, his belief in who Yahweh was among all gods never wavered. God was merciful to him, sparing him from death, though his sin had consequences the rest of his life. But there was no doubt that David was ever a believer in Yahweh and never worshipped another. Yet other kings of Israel and Judah were tossed aside, and both kingdoms sent into exile because they worshipped other gods. NOW, PAY ATTENTION: Personal failure, even of the worst kind, did not send a nation into exile. Choosing other gods did. Personal failure is not the same thing as trading Jesus for another god, and God knows that.
As I studied and contemplated this matter, other thoughts quickly entered my mind about the way God deals with people, more explicitly, the way God ‘Sees’ people. I started thinking of certain men and women and wondered about their potential salvation. Men and women like Jmi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, and Freddie Mercury, to name a few. I wondered rather peculiar thoughts about if God could ever say to people like these mentioned, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” My first thought was no. I think this would be a good discernment on the part of any Christian thinking about this matter. Then I thought again, If God looks beyond the outward appearance and into the heart, who am I to say what might have been in each of these individuals hearts at the time of their death, or just prior to death. Who am I to say what they might have experienced or believed somewhere along their journey. I have always wondered about the extent of “God’s long suffering and tender mercies” on men and women, just how far does His mercy go? It’s not for me to say, and this is not to say that we professing christians don’t exercise discernment and try to use good judgment. We have a responsibility to do so. Food for thought, Frankie The Earthman. Some words of this post credited to Michael Heiser and his book The Unseen Realm, pg 170, many thoughts and words from me Frankie The Earthman. QUESTION: Does or can personal failure send an individual to hell? Go deep in your thoughts.
Frankie The Earthman 