There's a lesson here somewhere.
I've probably mentioned this before, but my first crisis of faith occurred when I was six and a nun told me that dogs don't go to Heaven. Really, what's the point of Heaven if there won't be dogs* in it**?
Now imagine if that nun had told me my beloved grandparents were being tortured by demons for all eternity. Only the nun is your mom. And she says it like it's a good thing.
I know many of us have many unsaved family members, spouses, parents, sisters, brothers, etc.
But, as a parent, I think having an unsaved child(ren), no matter how old they are, is heartwretching and I am having a very difficult time with this.
As a parent we have tried to protect our children since birth and now when they don't know Jesus, it is like watching them die a slow death.
I have 2 children, a son 44 and a daughter 43.
My daughter is not saved, lives in Florida, never married, no children, beautiful, but is a party girl. She doesn't talk to me much or to the rest of the family either. I think deep down she is not as happy as she pretends to be. If I mention Jesus to her, she tells me to have fun thinking about my "afterlife" while she does everything she can to enjoy this one.
Yeah, she sounds miserable.
My son wa saved over 20 years ago during a relationship with a born again believer. All 3 of us attended church together. He was a changed man. But the relatioship ended and my son didn't show alot of fruit in later years, But, he always assured me he knew Jesus and would be in Heaven with me. Always! A couple months ago he told me he changed his mind and he thinks there are many ways to Heaven as he can't fathom the thought that his paternal grandparents whom he adored (but were as Catholic as they come) are in Hell.
I like him. Poor guy. Can you imagine being raised by this woman. "You know your grandparents, sweetie? Yes, they loved you very much. They played with you and hugged you and got you great presents and they're screaming their lungs out while being tortured by demons right now. Right now! Isn't that great?" Srsly.
I have to admit that knowing the Rapture is upon us, I am already grieving for my children. I can't stand the agony, even though I know in my heart that if God wants them for His own, He will find a way.
This may sound awful, but I think I could deal better if they died KNOWING Jesus (prior to the Rapture) then knowing that they could die without knowing Jesus or that we could be taken at any time and they will be left behind.
Wow. That's . . . um . . . I dunno, maybe German has a word for that? English sure doesn't. I have never ever looked at any of my loved ones and thought, "You know, I'd feel better about things if you were dead. Right now. Yeah, that would make me more comfortable." That's . . . O.o
How do you find joy when you are a parent of lost children and you never know when the phone will ring with bad news with an accident or we never know when we will be raptured when things appear that it will likely be soon?
See, now I can answer that question: Take a lesson from your son and your daughter and stop believing silly shit like this and enjoy the life you have with them now, before it's too late.
*Or cats or horses or bunnies or hamsters, etc.
**I can't remember who came up with this idea, but I read once that Heaven and Hell are the same place, it's just that two different people will find the same thing to be both pleasing and displeasing, so for me, Heaven is endless fields of puppies, but for someone who is scared of dogs, that's simultaneously Hell. It's really quite a clever idea.
I have never ever looked at any of my loved ones and thought, "You know, I'd feel better about things if you were dead.
ReplyDeleteI have, lots of times, when my son was dying of childhood leukemia; but I didn't dedicate my life to worshiping the cancer that was killing him.
An existence without the love of dogs isn't one worth having..
ReplyDeleteSounds like a pleasant "mommy dearest" type of thing. Time to send mama to the looney bin.
"alot of fruit"
ReplyDeleteI shall now picture an alot wearing a Carmen Miranda fruit hat.
[pictures this]
Ah, there. That's much better.
So, what happens when the rapture date comes and goes and no Jesus? I guess, like Linus and the Great Pumpkin, faith was not 100%?
ReplyDeleteUzza...
ReplyDeletethat's utterly different. you [rationally and lovingly] wanted your child to NOT SUFFER. not suffer the actual suffering that was actually happening. love is like that.
this other person [and lots and lots of people like her] really do believe, down to their toes, that if you don't follow the specific dance steps EXACTLY correctly, you are going to Hell.
doesn't matter that the Bible explicitly says this isn't so. they really believe it - and so are therefor breaking OTHER "Biblical Rules" by judging their children, and teaching them to fear God [as opposed to LOVE God] and "trying to guess the day and hour" which they've ALSO been ordered to not do - and in the process of this, let their children know that their parents think they're SO BAD that they have no future but Hell.
that's child abuse.
you loved your kid more than you loved yourself. this woman? i don't know, but she doesn't love them more than her false version of God. and that's SAD...
That entire thread is really, really sad. These parents are heartbroken...honestly, completely heartbroken and worried sick because they truly believe God is going to toss their children into hell if they don't "accept Jesus".
ReplyDeleteThe poster actually *praises God* that she won't remember her unsaved children in heaven. She rejoices that once she's with God, she won't have to be sad anymore that her offspring are roasting. It's like these people are so starved for hope that they lap up whatever sick imitation of kindness their monster of a God is willing to offer them: "Yes, I'm going to keep torturing your children, but since I'm *merciful*, I'll erase your memory so you don't have to be sad anymore, you poor thing."
That's just, just...wrong, on so many levels. What's weird is that they're all so UPSET about the whole hell thing...and yet none of them ever seems to back up and say, "Wait a second, who set things up like this? Wasn't it *God*? Maybe he's not such a great guy after all."