Church letter for September
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
As I write this letter the news is dominated by the search for survivors of the Moroccan earthquake and by images of the devastating floods in Libya. Perhaps you have also watched in horror as victims, including children, were pulled from the rubble or the waters and placed in waiting body bags.
Was this the end of the spiritual journey for all these people? Not just for them, but also for those killed in the war in Ukraine, or who die of hunger in the Horn of Africa, or who pass away in some lonely corner of a care home? It’s a difficult but important question, isn’t it? What of those and the countless millions like them who have died without having heard the name of Christ? Does it matter? Are they lost forever both to us and to God?
The Bible draws a distinction between the destiny of the saints and fate of the incorrigibly wicked. We know that because of the grace of Jesus, we are numbered among the saints (even though we do not always act like a saint!). In Ephesians 2:4-7 NIV the Apostle Paul explains that “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus”.
At first glance this can be a difficult passage to follow. It’s talking about how we participate in Jesus through the Spirit. Not only are we crucified and raised with Jesus, but we also ascended with him to God’s throne where Jesus the King is at the right hand of the Father. Spiritually speaking, in faith we are there now even though, physically speaking, we are still on earth and involved in the suffering that goes on in this world. We are before the throne of God – the “glorious throne, exalted from the beginning”, the throne that “is the place of our sanctuary” (Jeremiah 17:12 NIV). In other words, thanks to Jesus, we’re safe around God’s throne.
The afterlife means different things in different religions. Some religions suggest the dead will be re-incarnated and will or have already come back in different forms. Or that their souls join an eternal spirit – perhaps like a drop of water into the vast pool of eternity. The atheist view is that there is nothing after life and therefore we should make the best of the here and now. But what do we think?
There are also different views within Christianity itself. Are all people, even the little children, who have never accepted Christ lost for eternity to God? My view is that surely the answer lies in the mercy of God. Whatever we think of God, he is greater than our thoughts. He is bigger than we think he is. And his mercy is more abundant than any scenario we may imagine. God is always better.
We don’t have all the answers yet, but we do know that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), meaning that God’s gracious love extends not just to one nation but to all nations, not just to holy huddles of believers but to all people everywhere throughout history. As our GCI Statement of Belief notes, “all humans are, in spite of themselves, loved, forgiven, and included in Jesus Christ” (https://www.gci.org/articles/thegci-statement-of-beliefs/).
This gives me hope. Hope that as Christians, we can trust that our future is secure in Christ. But also hope for everyone unfairly caught up in disasters, wars, and disease. There difficulties and evils of this world cannot separates them from the love of God for them in Christ Jesus.
Warm regards from Sinead and me,
Gavin Henderson
National Ministry Leader