A Penitent Blogger
“A Voice Speeding to Hell”
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (known as the 9/11 Commission) has released audiotape of the lead hijacker flying toward the World Trade Center.
It is the voice of a man coldly and deliberately intending to kill himself in a matter of minutes – and not just himself, but also thousands of men, women, and children.
The thought occurs to the listener that it is the voice of a man speeding himself to Hell.
Another thought soon follows... God forgive us: we are forbidden to say definitively that any particular person is in Hell. God alone is the Eternal Judge of all. We may make particular evaluations and take certain actions – to protect ourselves and others, to make clear what is right and wrong, and to call ourselves and others to turn away from evil – but we dare not put ourselves in the place of God as ultimate Judge. Not even the Power of the Keys, handed over by Christ himself, is used to do that.
But, our human reason screams, if not this person, who? How could someone who rejects Christ as Savior and who hatefully destroys his life and the lives of thousands escape eternal damnation?!
In such hard cases, we have trouble reconciling our concepts of God’s mercy and justice. That is only natural, for we are not God. Our anger and horror at these unspeakably evil actions is very well justified. We must deal with this anger and do whatever we can do morally to protect against such evil actions and to bring true healing.
We know that those who have died committing these evils are beyond our reach – they are in the hands of God, whose justice is infinite and eternal. He will sort it out and those who commit evil will be very, very, very sorry.
As people of faith, we know that when we ourselves see God face to face, we will then see His mercy and justice displayed in its fullness. At that moment we will understand who is in paradise, who is in Hell, and why; and in that moment we will rejoice in God’s righteousness.
In the meantime, as people of faith, we have work to do: in our own hearts and in our world. Our focus should be on that work and we should put everything else into the hands of God.
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
It is the voice of a man coldly and deliberately intending to kill himself in a matter of minutes – and not just himself, but also thousands of men, women, and children.
The thought occurs to the listener that it is the voice of a man speeding himself to Hell.
Another thought soon follows... God forgive us: we are forbidden to say definitively that any particular person is in Hell. God alone is the Eternal Judge of all. We may make particular evaluations and take certain actions – to protect ourselves and others, to make clear what is right and wrong, and to call ourselves and others to turn away from evil – but we dare not put ourselves in the place of God as ultimate Judge. Not even the Power of the Keys, handed over by Christ himself, is used to do that.
But, our human reason screams, if not this person, who? How could someone who rejects Christ as Savior and who hatefully destroys his life and the lives of thousands escape eternal damnation?!
In such hard cases, we have trouble reconciling our concepts of God’s mercy and justice. That is only natural, for we are not God. Our anger and horror at these unspeakably evil actions is very well justified. We must deal with this anger and do whatever we can do morally to protect against such evil actions and to bring true healing.
We know that those who have died committing these evils are beyond our reach – they are in the hands of God, whose justice is infinite and eternal. He will sort it out and those who commit evil will be very, very, very sorry.
As people of faith, we know that when we ourselves see God face to face, we will then see His mercy and justice displayed in its fullness. At that moment we will understand who is in paradise, who is in Hell, and why; and in that moment we will rejoice in God’s righteousness.
In the meantime, as people of faith, we have work to do: in our own hearts and in our world. Our focus should be on that work and we should put everything else into the hands of God.
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
posted by Penitens | 3:48 PM
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