LIFE or life?

Does God send people to hell because they don’t meet his requirements? Because they don’t do….? Or because they do…? (Fill in the blanks.)

This came up in a conversation the other day, (and I have permission from the one who said these things to refer to the conversation) and I have been reflecting on this for a couple of days.

These guys called Saduccees came to Jesus one time to try to trick him into saying something that they could hold against him. (They didn’t actually believe in any kind of resurrection, which is sad, you see.)

So they made up a scenario where this guy marries this girl, and dies, without having any kids. In their laws, his brother was required to marry her to continue the family line.

So, they said, this guy had six brothers, and each one married her, then died, one after the other. (Sounds a little bit suspicious…. Maybe, the original black widow.)

Anyway, they asked, whose wife would she be in the resurrection?

Jesus answered that it was kind of a silly question; that they didn’t know the scriptures, or have any concept of God’s power.
In the resurrection their would be no marriage or getting married.

But then, he said something that you have to think about a little bit.

“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:

‘I Am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

Did you catch it?

Jesus mentions three guys who had been dead for centuries, and spoke of them to these people who were “alive?” as if they were still alive.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew the power of God, and had been given this LIFE, simply because they believed Him.

These guys, these Saduccees, had not received this LIFE, because they didn’t know His power, or understand His words.

They were dead.

Not physically.

They were walking, talking, eating, marrying, even going to church.

But, they could not see God, or His kingdom.

Or His Son.

Jesus said that one has to receive a second birth in order to see, to know.

Not get born again, but be born again.

By God.

Not by any self effort.

No one can do this for himself.

It is a gift.

The thing is, this heaven, this place of resurrection, this city of God, only has those that have this LIFE living there.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”

His disciple John said,”God has given us eternal LIFE, and this LIFE is in His Son. He who has the Son has LIFE. He who does not have the Son of God does not have LIFE.”

So, if God offers this free gift to everyone in the whole world, this gift of LIFE,

Free gift to anyone who will accept it

How is that cruel?

And, about the question of being sent to hell because we don’t do the God thing right….

When you have this LIFE, you want to please the One who gave it to you.

And, even that is His gift to you.

Want your life changed to LIFE?

“For God loved the world so much, that He gave His one and only Son, that WHO EVER believes, in Him has everlasting, eternal, forever LIFE.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the judgment; the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3: 16-21

Jesus said that if you are stuck, burdened, and weighed down with this life, He would give you LIFE, if you would only come to Him.

It will change you.

Forever.