Chris - 24

My friend, Pete, & I headed over to a new fishing ground, North Hill Centre, close to our church.  With the colder weather setting in, people are moving inside.

We met Chris, a young, sharp dressed college student reading his Kindle.  He was glad to answer some questions about his spiritual beliefs and opinions. He is from a Roman Catholic background, but considers himself something of a religious skeptic. When asked about his religious experience, he used the words "family," "comfort," and "the importance of spirituality" to describe it.

He'd like to ask God, "Why? What's the purpose of everything."  If God were to ask him, "Why should I let you into heaven?" Chris responded, "He shouldn't.  I mean if he has to ask that question, I wouldn't want to go."

So Pete and I probed in this area, and had a good discussion that lasted quite some time.

Chris told us that he believes that God accepts everyone into heaven? When we pressed him on this ("Even someone like Hitler?"), he tried to keep to his original position by stating that God sees the big picture and he knows what social factors (& even mental deficiencies) would go into producing something like a Hitler.

I pressed him about personal responsibility, and how it would be hard to conceive of a God who didn't demand justice.  That is, if there is no justice and God just sort of 'overlooks' everything, how could we conceive of God being good, let alone just.

Chris eventually conceded that some people could end up banished from God's presence, though Chris clearly disliked the idea that this could be eternal. Pete pressed him a bit more and asked him if it was possible that someone who didn't want to be with God in this life could still have those same desires in the next life.  Chris had to admit that this was possible.

I asked him how he--being a Roman Catholic--understood something like the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Chris responded by saying that he died as an example.

He said he'd be curious as to what we thought the message of the crucifixion was, and we told him we'd be glad to explain.  I explained that we are moral agents with a responsibility to live in accordance with God's standards, the Ten Commandments, but that we have all broken them and stand guilty before God.  Jesus died in the place of people like us, thus making a way for us to go from being guilty on the Day of Judgment to being innocent. God is just since he doesn't sweep sin under the carpet nor look the other way, and he can be merciful since Jesus stood in the sinner's place condemned.

In the end, Chris said that he couldn't accept that God would be that upset with our sins, even though he conceded that Jesus in some sense died for our sins.

We invited him to NCC & gave him our contact info promising to buy him a beer or coffee if he would like to discuss these things at a deeper level.  So, after about 45 minutes to an hour, we thanked him for his conversation.

We trust that we were able to clearly articulate the gospel, challenge a number of Chris' assumptions, and placed a pebble in his shoe with some things to think about.   May the Lord use this to draw Chris to himself.

--
I John 3:4, "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness."

Lord, would you convince Chris of your holy standard, and of your holy opposition to our sin, that he might find in you the forgiveness that you offer to all lawbreakers.