Replacing the Joy of Knowing God with a Place

We have made the issue of the afterlife about heaven and hell. Jesus didn't come to offer us heaven or hell. He came to offer us life. The choice isn't heaven or hell but life and death (see John 3:16-18).

What type of life did Jesus offer? Eternal life. What is eternal life? Jesus Himself told us, "This is eternal life to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent" (John 17:3).

So the real issue is about knowing God now and forevermore not about a place we go to after we die. Once again we have replaced a person with a place. We have removed God from the question about what happens when we die and made it about a destination. Jesus, who is life, came to offer us Himself, a life where we get to know Him and His Father in love from now to eternity.

Conversation about Christ

Because Christ is our life we should easily be able to talk about Him with others. I think that training and preaching are part of the problem. Churches give expectations and instruction about something that should be natural. People who want to share Christ with others are stricken with fear and burdened with pressure because of the "standards" they feel like they need to live up to.

Talking about God should just be a natural talking just like you would naturally talk about sports. Imagine if someone came along and said to you that you have to talk about sports "just so" and you have to learn and include these certain facts and questions into the conversation. Talking about sports becomes a performance that you can either succeed or fail at depending on if you can transfer your love of sports to the other person. It is no longer fun, spontaneous, and natural because of the standards.