No matter what...

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls -- 

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

       I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NKJV)

The Bible does not support anything like Universalism where God will eventually make things work out for every human being and we all get to live together in “happily ever after.”  The Bible makes it plain that some people will finally gain their status as independent contractors who can go it on their own.  The difficulty with such a status is that it is known as Hell and not a special accommodation for those who reject Jesus. 

The Bible also explains that there will be a number of people who will be quite surprised at their status (Matthew 7:22-23) as evildoers when they thought that they had their ticket punched by doing great religious works. 

The Epistle of John was written to give believers an understanding of their eternal hope as it applies to life here on earth (1 John 3:20-21).  When believers claim Jesus and confess their relationship with Him, they are reassured of His care for them and His willingness to camp out in their back yard, so to speak (1 John 4:15).

There is a dangerous doctrine that tries to teach that God pre-selected all of the people who would be sent to Hell in advance of ever creating anyone: even before the first man had life breathed into him.  This calvinistic doctrine seems to have a logical basis but it has no basis in the Bible.  It was made up by men who were too proud to stop themselves at the place where they did not have enough information to continue describing God’s ways and works.  They forged ahead and left the Bible and the character of Jesus behind.  The reprobation (damnation) of the lost in advance of creation cannot be proved with the Bible. (Romans 1:25-28)

There are those nights when I wake from claustrophobic or abandonment dreams and tremble at the terrible picture that I am not bound for heaven.  Maybe I am what some calvinists describe me as being - reprobate and vile, worthless trash.  Maybe the fig tree and the vine and the olive tree are nothing but kindling and fire wood in me and I am the only wretched goat in my barn that holds no flock. 

Perhaps I have crossed a bridge over a chasm and heard the crash of that structure behind me, knowing now that there is no way home.

Maybe I will bow before His white throne and the words I long to hear will be pronounced over someone else…but not me. 

There may be no “Well Done Faithful Servant” for me. 

Maybe not.

But I hope that as the angels escort me to the side of the goats, I will be able to think to thank Jesus that He made a way for some…and that I led a few (never enough) to trust Him as their savior. 

Meanwhile, I will continue to claim Him even though He may have no place for me (Habakkuk 3:18).

Meanwhile I will believe that the Bible is true and as I confess my sins, He forgives me from the boundless beauty of His perfect justice (1 John 1:9).

Meanwhile, I will remind all that will read or hear that Jesus is God.  Jesus saves.  The cross is the place of salvation and salvation happens in time.

While there is time…

Come to Jesus.

Come to the Cross.