Life’s existence. Thought about it lately? You may have read or seen the interview on CNN with Christopher Hitchens, the avowed atheist who is dying from cancer. There is one statement that reverberates from his life: “In whatever kind of a ‘race’ life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist, and how I love the imagery of struggle”. Sadly we say: I wonder if this will be his response when he meets the God he declared is only a figment of one’s imagination? What will be his response when he comes face to face with the One seated upon the throne on the “other side” one of these days? The author of Hebrews wrote: “people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment”. What judgment will Hitchens face? What kind of finalist will he be? What kind of finalist will I/you be? That is the ultimate question of life and why we often ask “why do we exist” anyway? That has been Hitchen’s question his whole life having ceased to believe in God which began shortly after age 9 when his mother and her lover committed suicide. He said he felt helpless to have helped her through this time in her life. And so began his “spiritual journey” and unlike Josiah who heard the Word and followed Yahweh, Hitchens turned his back on God. Many have asked him why and this is his answer: briefly human beings have a tendency towards being "faithful" and argues that religion will remain entrenched in the human consciousness as long as human beings cannot overcome their primitive fears, particularly that of their own mortality”
How tragic to read this and more importantly to know the influence he has had on our generation. But, this also provides us an opportunity to provide the “other side” of the story to the praise and glory of our God. In the Westminster Confession we read these words: All things in Scripture: those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them. Thus Hitchens stands condemned because he has had the same opportunity to believe as anyone else who has “existed”. The Word of God is freely available to him to read but he has chosen to blind his eyes to the truth. Jesus told Nicodemus: John 3:17-18 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God”.
So where do you stand in the race of life? Do you see your life as Hitchens does, just a race with no eternal destiny of value and only will realize the futility of that decision upon the opening of death’s door? Jesus taught a parable about 2 men who made choices in this life in Luke 16:27-28. They both died, but the “Hitchens” of the parable found himself crying “Then I beg you, father –to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.” OR…. will you join Paul in saying “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith! Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day – and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing” [2 Tim 4:7]
If you are like Hitchens, I implore you to go and read this article: http://bible.org/article/gods-plan-salvation
