I took part in an interesting Facebook discussion recently. My friend and singing partner, Susie-Q, posted a wonderful call to choose Christ, ending with the words "Smoking or Non-Smoking?" referring to Hell or Heaven as your eternal destination. One to the responders seemed to take the words a little more literally, saying he wouldn't mind a smoke now and then, but didn't want to burn forever for just making a bad choice. He wanted someone to explain why a person could be doomed eternally for one minor "infraction", and what kind of God could be so harsh. I posted a note back (thanks Susie!) that if it came down to "infractions" we were all toast! The choice was between having Christ come down to heal our hearts and be with us, in spite of the infractions, or having to live eternally without His love and healing.
A fairly simple answer at first look, but the implications are so deep. It's so easy to look at Christianity as a set of rules for living right. Do this, this and this, not that, that and that. But if we start trying to justify our salvation like that, trying to prove we're worth the salvation Christ has given us, we'll go belly up in a hurry. No one is righteous enough to "earn" Heaven . Even the Bible says "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". So lets begin with the understanding that when it comes to "Do this, not that", it's a Pass/Fail course, and we ALL fail. Kinda puts all humankind on the same level, doesn't it?
Now, since we are all the aforementioned "toast", what hope does that leave us? In ourselves...nada, zilch, the big goose egg. Nothing. The only one capable of restoring the God/man relationship is the the one that has been offended, God. And since there was no way any of us could reach up to His level, He came down to ours. We tend to think of salvation in terms of forgiving sin, and it is that, but that is really a byproduct of the main thing. You see, when Adam sinned that first sin, what happened was that the relationship between God and man was broken. When Christ offers salvation, He says, "I've missed you. I desire you. I long to be with you, together, eternally, as brother to brother/sister. Please, please come to me, all you that are weary, burdened down, and I will give you rest."
Now, if the things we do are not going to give us salvation, but only accepting Christ, then is it ok to party like it's 1999? Not so fast there! If you've finally come upon the one true love of your life, you're going to do everything possible to make yourself better for your lover, not slack off. But even though we know that we will fail, His love is greater than our failures. Pretty cool, huh? So, "smoking or non-smoking" is about our choice to live with His constant, surrounding, never ending love for eternity, or without that love for eternity. And rather than force that decision upon us, like slaves, He allows us to say "No." How that must tear at His loving heart, yet He abides by our decision. We should never take that Love for granted.
