how wrong can you be?

An old, often repeated joke, though the names tend to change according to setting:
A new arrival to heaven is being escorted down a long hallway with doors on each side bearing the names of various denominations. He passes the Lutheran door, the Methodist door, and the Presbyterian door but upon reaching the (exclusive denomination of your choice) door, his escort says, “Be quiet near this door, they think they’re the only ones here.”
I have heard the joke told about various Christian denominations and systems.

Christians pass judgment on other’s qualifications for heaven. It might be based upon the amount of water used in baptism or the ability to speak an unknown tongue or ones voting preference.

Last year an acquaintance was condemned near and far because of his convictions as a universalist; he believes everyone will be in heaven. As I read the various denouncements of him, I wondered, if his critics expected to see him in heaven? Most Christians, be they evangelical, fundamental, liberal, or some other brand, basically believe that salvation is a free gift of God based upon acceptance of Jesus. A few put some additional pieces to this acceptance like baptism or speaking in tongues or voting republican. (Joking, I haven’t actually met anyone who will admit to placing adherence to the Republican party as a prerequisite for salvation, regardless of their practice.)
So the question is:
How wrong can you be?
How wrong can you be and still get in?
Will the universalist be there?
What about a homosexual friend who’s not living a celibate life?
What about a grad school T.A. who described himself as a “dyed in the wool evolutionist?” (He was a research scientist, volunteered as a T.A. in Hebrew for the fun of it because he loved languages.)

The universalist, the homosexual and the evolutionist are all Christians. Do their convictions disqualify them for heaven?

My conviction: everyone has something wrong. We are human, we are broken and “we see in a mirror, dimly.” In heaven we will see clearly.

Salvation is a free gift and the level of understanding necessary to experience and possess salvation is very small. Little Fish accepted Jesus at age three. She was not as stubborn as her father who was not able to accomplish that simple task until eighteen.

Do I believe there will be universalists in heaven? Yes.
Do I believe there will be homosexuals in heaven? Yes.
Do I believe there will be evolutionists in heaven? Yes.
Why?
Because I think God is up to the task.

Do I believe that there will be people who do not make it into heaven? Yes. I think the Bible is very clear on this. I’m very glad, though, that the task of condemning people to hell is not in my job description. That responsibility resides with one who has far greater qualifications for the job.

futility of the red bird

a red bird, aka cardinal lives on our property.
every day, all day long it flies into our windows.
the house has three floors.
it is no respecter of floors.
if i'm on the bottom floor it flies into the glass door for the deck.
if i'm on the second floor, the living room, it flies into the large windows.
if i'm on the third floor, it flies into the bedroom windows.
in my wife's office, third floor, it flies into her window.
as i write this it is flying into the window in front of me.
if we go on the deck it flies away.
the previous owners warned us about the bird.
they believed it was a deceased father reincarnated.
since i do not believe in reincarnation, i believe it is a bird with nothing better to do than fly into the windows.
we researched, how long do these birds live?
sometimes 15 years.
that's a long time to fly into windows.
one day the bird was sitting on a tree branch in front of the house chirping at me.
it's the most i've heard the bird say.
the bird's activities are a waste of time.
are human beings any better?
at times is the church any better?
i was at a church that had the same easter service every year to "bring people to christ."
good intentions. in five years, two people became christians on easter.
i'm glad they did.
but all the other years . . . no one.
were we flying into windows?

new stuff

people have asked, "what are you doing next?"
the current, correct answer is, "not sure."
we, meaning the family, have talked and brainstormed and are open to many possibilities.
i've been in touch with some churches.
I've looked into doctorate programs.
i have a couple of start up ideas.
mostly i'm not sure.
many of the ideas are good.
right now i'm trying to give myself a little time to adjust.
it's different to sit here, look out at the trees, birds, and deer in our backyard and know that i have no appointments, no pressing issues to resolve, no phone calls to return, (except to one friend who has called twice, sorry about that mike), and very few emails.
it's refreshing, except for those moments when i wonder , , ,
"what are you doing next?"
and i have to answer, "not sure."

friends

experiences of recent months have included reconnecting with old friends.
some i've not seen, spoken to, etc in many, many years. didn't know so many years could pass with no loss of friendship. friends are good. friends are important. friends are eternal.
never know when a new person becomes a friend.
one i met while sitting in the library in undergraduate school.
we sang together, traveled together, lived together, experienced anger, joy, disappointment, disagreements, unity and bonds of love. we were in each others weddings and each others lives. and all these years later we are still friends.
next week little fish shows up in florida with a group of friends. it will be her last spring break at our florida house because we are selling. one of her friends is her room mate since freshman year. she has become a second daughter to us and is an important friend to little fish. i hope they are in each others weddings (not too soon) and rejoice with each other thru the years with the arrival of children, job changes, and the movement and changes of life.