Jesus, the Grinch?

There are many people who are not Christian, and not a few nominal Christians who like to imagine that we are all good, we all will get to heaven. Regardless of beliefs, or, for some, regardless of what we do.

I happen to be a Reformed Protestant (think 5 solas), one of those dread Calvinists, and I believe that most of us are not quite going to make it to heaven. Quite probably including (excluding?) me, but, hey, I enjoy a challenge as much as the next guy…

What brought all this up is today’s Bible verse, Matthew 13:47-48:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

The Bible is chock full of such verses, e.g. goat and sheep, those who the Father sends, and so forth. Further, Scripture clearly tells us that we will all be judged by God.

The criteria for admission to heaven are pretty clear: love God, love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-39). Everything else is just commentary. Judgment as to how well one did these things is not up to us. God, and God alone, will be the judge.

That doesn’t mean we sit idly by and excuse heinous behavior, or pretend that it doesn’t matter to God. The point? Not all of us will get past those pearly gates. Observation of what goes on on this side of the Kingdom of God is instructive. Far too many people in this world don’t look like they’re even trying to make the cut.

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