frus·tra·tion
/frʌsˈtreɪ.ʃən/
noun
- the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something
Why are men so preoccupied with heaven and hell? Especially, hell? Why are so few preoccupied with Christ? They have some incoherent notion of wandering around in heaven, along streets of gold, in and out of pearly gates, from mansion to mansion, visiting their dead relatives, with absolutely nothing else to do for all of eternity, but sing in heavenly choirs.
As Dostoevsky wrote in Notes from Underground,
Shower upon him every earthly blessing, drown him in a sea of happiness, so that nothing but bubbles of bliss can be seen on the surface; give him economic prosperity, such that he should have nothing else to do but sleep, eat cakes and busy himself with the continuation of his species, and even then out of sheer ingratitude, sheer spite, man would play you some nasty trick.
If I learnt anything after closely observing myself for half a century, I just might be one of those playing a nasty trick - not out of ingratitude or spite but sheer boredom, especially if they make me sing in heavenly choirs for hours on end. But then, perhaps I need not worry about the itinerary for those going to heaven.
The popular notions become only slightly more coherent with respect to hell: worms, fire, frying pans, demons with horns and tails and pitchforks, etc. Some say that there are several levels; others insist that there are different rooms for different categories of sinners. Maybe, one can have appointments in several torture rooms if he has been afflicted by several major sins.
And then there is the fascination with the antichrist. There are books, movies, paintings, prophecies, predictions, warnings. They will tell you all of the warning signs of his coming - including his nationality and hair color. Every time there is a need to invade someone’s country they label its ruler as hitler, dictator, mad man; but for centuries before everyone agreed that ‘hitler’ was a convenient word to refer to pure evil, the label “antichrist” was common. This was said about Lenin, and Napoleon, and Peter the Great, and Patriarch Nikon, and not a few Roman popes. Many seem to be watching for the signs of the antichrist, but few are watching for the signs of the coming of the Christ.
Where is the man who just wants to be with Jesus - not in heaven, not out of hell, but with Jesus? Where is the man who says, "I do not want heaven, I do not care about hell; I want Jesus"? Where is the man who is ready to follow his Lord to the moon and back, even to the edge of the earth, through the darkest forest? Where is the man who says, "If in order to be with Jesus, I must go to hell, then I will gladly go to hell and be burnt and pitchforked seventy times seven - just to be with my Lord"?
What a consumerist attitude - "Accept Jesus in order to avoid the hellfire and inherit life in heaven!" For God so loved the world" that He came all the way to earth in order to be with us, all the way to poverty, to hunger, to thirst, to weariness. He came to serve, to wash feet, to be rejected, tempted, tested, arrested, beaten, tortured and killed. If in order to find His lost sheep, Jesus had to descend into the very abyss itself, did He not do that? Did he not choose His beloved over the comforts of heaven? Sure, He is eternally risen, but is He not also eternally crucified. Why then do men respond by "accepting" Him in order to gain eternal comforts and to avoid eternal discomforts?
Imagine a man who plans to get married, and instead of saying to his beloved, "I want to be with you because I love you," he says, "I want to be with you because I want to have my meals cooked, my house cleaned, my socks washed, and I want to busy myself with the continuation of my species." Even we, fallen humans, do not say this to our beloved. In our best moments, we say, "I want to be with you because I love you - for better or for worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness or in health..." Why then do men not extend the same love toward God, and are instead obsessed with getting stuff out of God - as if He has not given enough already? Scared of hell? - Accept Jesus! Want eternal retirement in heaven? - Accept Jesus! Problems in life? - Jesus will fix them!
This is not to say that there is no heaven or hell or problems in life. But when God says, "I love you," do men really have to ask, "What's in it for me?"
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