No fine print

The comedian Bob Hope was once asked if he was qualified for entry into heaven. He replied that he thought so and sure hoped he wouldn’t miss out on a technicality. Wouldn’t it be terrifying to think that we could miss out on eternal life by getting one particular doctrinal detail wrong, if we got one Bible text wrong. Imagine sitting down for an entry exam before we entered and being grilled on the finer points of the Trinity or incarnation or the nature of the Old Testament laws.

Of course entry to heaven is dependent on our trusting in what Jesus has done for us, relying on his mercy not our goodness. But as to the details of all that, who can really plumb the depths of the works of God? We will get some things wrong by either ignorance or folly.

It is a bit like a young child writing a letter to her father who is away from home. She gets the spelling all wrong, no punctuation to speak of, and she even gets some of the facts wrong about her father’s travels. But the father doesn’t reject the letter because of the mistakes. He accepts it as a genuine expression of love from someone who hasn’t mastered the art of letter writing.

We can be sure we will not be ruled out of heaven because of some obscure sub-clause in some barely understood contract. There is no fine print at the foot of the cross.

Blessings
David Reay