Chat
01-14-2016, 06:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-14-2016, 07:10 PM by Nanny.
Edit Reason: typo
)
NHWatcher, your fortune telling reference is acknowledged.
You said, "...., if someone in your congregation loses their loved one to death in whatever way, and asks you point blank at the funeral, "Is so and so in heaven?," what do you say? "I don't know" is not an option!
I beg to differ, so to speak. "I don't know" is not only an option but it is the proper thing to say. Because the person asked indeed doesn't know!
I am so sorry to hear that ministers are probably instructed to not be honest to such an important question. In fact, any of us that don't answer this are potentially stealing a person's moment of truth. They are seeking or pondering something profoundly VIP.
If they are told the, what many erring Christians call "little white lie," then they, too can then be tempted to relax about their own eternal fate since, if "so and so" made it without doubt, then they too don't have much to worry about, to simply state it.
Of course! after saying the true, "I don't know" or "we can't know," there's a loving "but............" where we, in our own style assure them, reminding them of God's perfect justice, patience, forgiveness, fairness, etc.
You said, "...., if someone in your congregation loses their loved one to death in whatever way, and asks you point blank at the funeral, "Is so and so in heaven?," what do you say? "I don't know" is not an option!
I beg to differ, so to speak. "I don't know" is not only an option but it is the proper thing to say. Because the person asked indeed doesn't know!
I am so sorry to hear that ministers are probably instructed to not be honest to such an important question. In fact, any of us that don't answer this are potentially stealing a person's moment of truth. They are seeking or pondering something profoundly VIP.
If they are told the, what many erring Christians call "little white lie," then they, too can then be tempted to relax about their own eternal fate since, if "so and so" made it without doubt, then they too don't have much to worry about, to simply state it.
Of course! after saying the true, "I don't know" or "we can't know," there's a loving "but............" where we, in our own style assure them, reminding them of God's perfect justice, patience, forgiveness, fairness, etc.