Like many of you I was brought up in a church whose theology was heavily influenced by Calvinism . In fact , we so closely aligned our selves with the teaching of John Calvin that as boys we couldn't be a part of " Boy Scouts " , instead we were " Calvinist Cadets " . Our girls couldn't be " Girl Scouts " , instead they were " Calvinettes " . Our youth groups were called " The Young Calvinists " . As a denomination we even started our own college and named it " Calvin College ". It appeared that I should be more concerned with the teachings of Calvin than Jesus !
One of the teachings of Calvin is the idea of predestination . That is the idea that God chose some people to take to heaven with Him and some people He chose to go to hell . He determined all this before the beginning of time , and we are totally incapable of doing anything to change our situation . It has nothing to do with our individual merit - we all " deserve hell " , it is simply , according to Calvin all based on God's good pleasure .
This idea always troubled me . Not so much whether I was chosen for heaven , but the idea that why didn't God choose more people ? Why didn't He choose everyone ? Why would anyone , especially God , want any person or persons to suffer for an eternity ? I mean , why would God choose to treat anyone this way considering that He gave His own Son to pay for their sins ! I can't imagine sending anyone I've ever known to an eternity of suffering . I can think of a few that I might want to suffer for a while , but not for eternity . I really don't know anyone who would choose an eternity of suffering for someone else . And so the question kept popping up in my mind - " Are we better than God ? " And then another sarcastic thought - " Maybe God should take lessons on loving people from us . "
For years these thoughts were always at the back of my mind and it was very difficult to connect the teachings of Calvin in my youth to a God who describes Himself as " Love " . Over time I explored other streams of Christianity and read through the gospels over and over again . What I discovered , thankfully , was a God who is so much better , so much more loving , and so much bigger than me ! John 3:17 summed it up for me - God didn't send Jesus to condemn us , but to bring us life ! God is not against us , you , me , or anyone else . God is for us , all of us !!!
So , do I believe that everyone will spend eternity in heaven with God ? I certainly hope so ! But , I do believe that God really did give us a free will , not just an illusion of one . Because of that freedom to choose there is one thing that I believe our all powerful God can not do - He can not make us love Him . If we make an informed decision to reject His love , He does honor our freedom of choice and gives us what we want - separation from Him - hell .
I choose life !
next post - So what now ?
