A Personal Conversation with Andy

"I'm sorry Ray and I don't mean to sound disrespectful to you, but I'm quite sure that when I die, if there turns out to be a God after all, and again for arguments sake, it's your God, I won't be begging for mercy. If this God is as just as you claim, I will be put on trial for my 'crimes'. This will mean that I will able to make a defense for my actions. It will be my right to demand that God demonstrate that his laws are as perfect as he claims they are." Anndy Duchemin

You are right. You won’t be begging for mercy because there won’t be any. If you die in your sins, you get only justice. The door of God’s mercy will be closed. There is no second chance.

I know that you don’t believe this, but my heart breaks for you and others who think of God as an old man in the sky (a sky-daddy, etc.), and therefore dismiss the idea of His existence.

Just for a moment, please put aside the thought that God doesn’t exist, and think about the universe, and how incredible God must be if He made it?

Think about the sun. The earth fits into its volume a million times. Think of its surface--the massive flames that reach up thousands of miles into space. If God created just that sun, then He is unspeakably powerful and (if you are wise) He is to be greatly feared.

Think now of your amazing memory bank. I’m 60 years old, but I can instantly recall almost every incident of my youth. I can go there and relive a multitude of experiences. Think of the things that are recorded in yours--those things that you did that were morally wrong. All of those things will come back as evidence of your guilt.

Add to that the fact that you are a fornicator (as you admitted recently--see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10), and you are in BIG trouble.

Andy, you know that I like you, so what I’m going to say is out of deep concern for you.

It’s because your concept of God is erroneous, that your consequent concept of Judgment Day is reduced to that of a civil court.

Judgment Day is more like you falling onto the surface of the sun, than you demanding anything from God. To say that you will be terrified is the understatement of eternity. You have no idea of the awesome power and holiness of the Almighty God that you have offended by your sin.

However, we can get a tiny glimpse of it through genuine conversion (something called "regeneration")--where God instantly makes you clean and new on the inside. That can only happen through humility, repentance, and trust in the person of Jesus Christ (see John 3:3).