“Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us only sky …”
I was sitting in front of my computer just recently – somewhere around 1 AM – and I must admit I was quite frustrated. As I sat there the words to this song came into my head – “Imagine there’s no heaven” it starts and then I am quite sure most would know much of the rest. For the first time in my life since I became a Christian I thought that I would take the great John Lennon’s advice. What if there was no heaven, no God? What would the world be like? The following is a short list that I came up with. As you go through it, maybe you will understand a little of my frustration.
What would the world be like…
- It would be a world in which people would pay no heed to guidance from a caring, loving Creator who wants only the best for his people.
- A world where people would consider the facts and information found in dictionaries, encyclopedias and the books of men to be of more consequence than the truth of the God who created the heavens and the earth.
- A world where people would be criticized for trying to get others to think about what they do rather than just going through the motions of man-made rituals.
- A world where parents would encourage their children to read whatever books they wanted as long as the children were reading. It wouldn’t matter if the books were about black magic, witches, wizards, casting spells, pornography, etc.- as long as the kids were reading, it would be just fine.
- A world in which major radio stations would feature real seances on the air.
- A world in which hypnotists would be allowed to go to schools to “entertain” our children. It would not matter if the entertainment meant that the kids turn over their wills to someone else.
- A world in which the leaders of our country would never mention the name of God at functions of national importance.
- A world in which people would rather seek the guidance of the daily horoscope than the truth of God-breathed scripture.
- A world in which people would write songs about imagining what the world would be like if there was no heaven …
And then I came to an abrupt stop. As I went back over what I had written – a horrible reality dawned on me. My frustration knew no bounds. “Why won’t they listen?”, I thought. “Am I deluded? Crazy?” I rushed quickly to my shelf – my palms were sweating. My mind racing. I flipped through the pages until I read …
II Corinthians 4:4
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
As I read these words my heart began to be at peace and the frustration lifted. Then I remembered the words of my Lord Jesus Christ who said that those who have eyes to see will see and those who have ears to hear will hear. And the rest will continue to be deceived by him who the Bible calls “the god of this world”.
Well now it was about 2 AM and I had all but forgotten the words of Mr. Lennon’s song. The comfort of the Scriptures had put my heart at rest. I could sleep.