Some thoughts.............

It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.

I’m not sure why this stuck out to me—it’s one of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses that he nailed to the door of the church way back when, beginning the reformation and the Protestant church. I know he’s talking about the buying of indulgences in place of actual repentance and prayer for our friends and relatives, but I think it has a bit to do with compassion as well.

On the women’s retreat this year I spoke a bit about compassion. And for most of us it’s easier to write a cheque c/o the UN or Feed the Children and think we’ve satisfied God’s commandment to help the poor. There’s nothing wrong with writing a cheque, either, giving of our resources to help people who don’t have anything. In fact, with the state of our first-world nations, I think it is rather an obligation.

There’s an interesting line in the Anne of Green Gables movie (for those of you who want to be technical it’s in Anne of Avonlea). Rachel Lynd and Marilla are on the porch talking to Anne about the new minister at their church. Rachel is taking issue with him (forgive me for lack of word-for-word quotes as I don’t currently own the movies) on a particular topic. He was preaching that ‘the heathen won’t be eternally condemned,’ and Rachel wonders aloud ‘why are we sending them all that money to the missionaries for then?’ Don’t ask me why, but as I was doing the dishes and making dinner tonight, I began to think about this.

It is my own firm belief that we are held accountable for the knowledge we have. That means for people who are raised in the church but don’t choose to follow Christ, the judgment that awaits them is severe (hell). For they have had every opportunity to know Jesus; they have the truth of God set before them, and they have not accepted it. On the other hand we have tribes deep in the interior of Tanzania (for example—having just come from there myself) who don’t speak Swahili (the national language) or even know that they are citizens of a nation called Tanzania; much less do they know about Jesus and His death on the cross that has paid the penalty for our sins. They cannot choose to either accept or reject Him because they know not Him. So on judgment day, they will be judged fairly, which means that they will not have as harsh a judgment as those who were raised in the church. (I believe the Bible supports me on this, although you are free to differ and we have no row between us.) For God is just, and He is also merciful.

Romans 1 says that creation itself proclaims God’s majesty, His power, His very character through what He fashioned by His own hands. And so even those who don’t know His name can see with their own eyes that He exists. There is something within all people that cries out to the Creator. So even these remote tribes in the Amazon or bush-bush Tanzania have a choice to follow the Creator or the created. It is instinctive, in the sense that it is within all of us. Now if they choose to follow this inkling towards the Creator, I believe that if they are open, the Holy Spirit will reveal to them the knowledge of Christ. But they must seek it; just as we here must seek Him more and more. (For more specific examples on this topic, check out Don Richardson’s Eternity in Their Hearts.) Anyway, my point here is that all men (meaning people) can know God if they seek Him. That’s Biblical (Jeremiah 29:13). So why do we send out missionaries, if people won’t be held accountable on judgment day for not knowing Christ if they were never preached Christ? Isn’t that a waste of time and money and it doesn’t matter anyway?

My thoughts are: they won’t be judged harshly for this; but what of us?