Of course, knowing was the problem for his sort. They just never seemed to get the difference between knowing and believing.
He asked, "Do you know how you'll spend eternity?"
I sat for a moment unsure of how to answer. After all, in truth I didn't know. Heck, I didn't even know if there really was such a thing as eternity. For me the operative word was "know". Of course, I didn't know, no one knows, at least not while alive. Even for those folks who've had near death experiences, it's still a matter of belief.
I replied, "There are many beliefs on that topic, but as long as we live in this life, we'll not really know. Frankly, we're incapable of knowing."
"What if I told you that you could know, and that you can insure your eternity will be in paradise?" he tried to rebut.
I wouldn't have any of it.
"Then I'd say you're either exaggerating or lying. Cuz we simply can not know. To know says that you have experienced it, but if you've experienced it then you're dead, and thus can't tell anyone about it. To know is to have absolute certainty, and absolute certainty can only be achieved from direct experience. That would require that you have experienced eternity. Now, since you are still alive in this physical world, then you could not have experienced eternity, therefore you are incapable of knowing. Now you can, and no doubt do believe in this eternity, and that's fine. But make no mistake, believing something and knowing something are two entirely different things. As long as I'm alive, I can consider various possibilities about what might follow death, all of which would be beliefs. But I can't actually know until after life is over. Then if there is a continuation of some sort, well I can't very well tell anyone about it, can I, since I'll be dead and all? On the other hand if there isn't a continuation, I won't know that either, since I'm no longer around to know anything. Considering that, regardless of whether or not there is a continuation, I can never know while I'm alive, can I?"
Taking into account this ones type, I found myself a bit surprised that I'd successfully flustered him into confused silence. When finally he did try to speak, his mouth moved like a fish staring out from its tank, making befuddled incoherent sounds, "Oh, uh, wa, ba…"
I reassured, "Try not to give it that much thought. Please understand, I don't concern myself with after life. It's not what we believe about eternity that matters nearly as much as what we do while we're still alive. So, I rather prefer to concern myself with living this life in a loving way, as Jesus taught, and leave eternity to God. After all, if my motivation for living a Christian life is only for the sake of gaining a reward, or avoiding punishment, then that motivation is frankly insincere. It becomes a shallow, even hollow meaningless charade of what it really ought to be. So it's not about seeking eternal paradise, but about loving God, and my neighbor as myself. That's all I need to concern myself with. If I only accept a Christian path for the sake of a free "get out of Hell" pass, then my motivation is not Christian, at all. Such an acceptance would be completely selfish, even greedy, not to mention completely fear based. To truly follow the path Jesus laid out, our motivation must proceed from compassion, not greed or fear. And that means compassion for all people, regardless of what they believe or don't believe. Love while in life, and life will be sweet. It's not about eternity, it's about living a loving life now, making the universe a better place by your having been a part of it."
I smiled.
He walked away shaking his head, revealing he still didn't get it.
Laura