Eternal Life: 
Is It a Matter of Choice?

by the Rev. Henry Korsten, minister of the Swedenborgian Church in Edmonton, Alberta
In the August 1996 Issue of Our Daily Bread

This morning I would like to share some thoughts about the importance to live a life of love and understanding in light of eternity. In view of eternity it might help us to think about living our lives in regard to the past, the present and the future. I am certain, that when we undertake such a review we cannot escape the reality that we have a long way to go in having excellent loving relationships with God and with the people He has created.

For instance it is difficult to love all people without being biased or prejudiced. It is also very difficult to love God when disaster strikes and a very close loved one dies. And if our life is endangered by someone it is extremely difficult to love one's enemy.

Indeed should we desire to have a closer relationship with God, I think that we need to make choices to initiate changes that bring us closer to the Lord God and to one another. I believe that a review of our lives in all its aspects does leave us but with he choice to bring changes into our lives.

As a matter of fact changes in our lives are essential for our spiritual growth. Should we not make changes for the better in our relationship with God and with people, we are at a stand-still in growing. The danger then is very real that we will fall away from being able to relate to the Lord God and to people. To avoid this falling away, I believe it to be absolutely essential to remain faithful church-goers.

However, not everyone will agree that change is necessary if we want to have a close relationship with God. Some people will frown on changes that might occur in church for the purpose of improving the relationship with God and one another. Such people would rather stay with the status quo, and sit in the comfortable pew. 

I heard that other day about a woman, who rebuked the pastor of a Presbyterian Church for what she considered radical changes. She told him, "Revered, if God were alive today, He would be shocked at the changes in this church."

Would anyone want to believe in a God who is dead? I don't think so. What good would a dead God be? I think that we want to believe in a God who is alive and well who will guide and help us. Believing in a living God means that God is eternal. He who was, who is, and who is to come.

I chose as the topic for this morning ETERNAL LIFE; IS IT A MATTER OF CHOICE? Perhaps I should have titled this talk, "Eternal living, is it a matter of choice?" The answer would have been easy, because there is an existence after death either good or bad.

Let me explain what I mean. When the Lord talks about life, He means life based on inner spiritual convictions and motivations, which are based on love and truth as He teaches it, that is living live to the fullest as it has been intended by God from the beginning of time.

When Jesus talks about death or losing one's life; He talks about living a life based on physical, material, worldly motivations of self-love and greed. These motivations are carried over into the world of spirits where they become the sole motivation for living, which is being spiritually dead.

What our eternal living will be like is a matter of choices. Choices that we have made, choices that we make today, and choices that we will make. Choices that will make a difference in the future years of our lives in this world and the next.

In Matthew, Jesus tells us, "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life. For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the Glory of His father, and then He will repay every man for what He has done." In these words there is no doubt that the soul is destined for eternity. No doubt that living continues when the body no longer functions. No doubt that what we do in this life has consequences for eternity.

The thought that all our choices in this world carry a consequence into eternity could be a scary one. Particularly when we evaluate our past. And the past includes yesterday and the beginning of this day. I know that there are many choices that I have made that are not really in harmony with God's will. There are areas in my life in which I need to think and act much more in harmony with God's love and wisdom.

Indeed it might be a scary thought if we think about how easy it is to pursue all the worldly gains and not regard the purpose of life as given to us by God's commandments. It is a good thing that the Lord God has much compassion for us and is a forever-forgiving-God. Because He is such a forgiving-God, He constantly reminds us in His Holy Word about the purpose of life.

The purpose of life is to become angelic and heavenly.
The purpose of life is to love God and one another.
The purpose of life is to do good things for one another, with no thought of reward.

We can get an idea about the reward when we hug one another. We also get some idea about the reward from people who unexpectedly had a near-death or angelic experience. After the experience those people live with a sense of purpose, wanting to live better lives. They hold human relationships in high esteem, and they want to learn, they want to grow spiritually. These motivations are the results form an encounter with angels, and the results of an encounter with inescapable light and unqualified love.

People who have had a near-death-experience saw their whole life in front of them; the very good, the good, the bad and the very bad. They didn't experience condemnation; instead they experienced the good feelings that come from unconditional love. They don't wish to die, but at the same time they are not afraid to die. They are not afraid to die because they know that their experience was beautiful and real beyond the present. A taste of eternity, that awaits us and that needs to be shared with those who are willing to accept it.

Our text this morning from the book of Revelation applies to living in the world of spirits, once the transition from this physical world has taken place.

By the evildoers are meant those people who have made the greed for material wealth their goal in life. In the world of spirits even what might have been good in those people, even that will be taken away from them. One could say that they will learn to become highly expert in doing evil things to others.

By the filthy are meant the people who have lived by the false thought, that self-love is the major purpose for living. We might say that people who look firstly after number one, meaning themselves, are motivated by the false thoughts of self-love. These people will be constantly frustrated by losing in the competition to be first and better than anybody else. It is a never ending, never winning battle.

When the Lord talks about the righteous of the just, He means the people who live in the world of spirits by God's commandments as they also observed them while in the physical world. They too go through a period in which all actions not based on the commandments will be taken away from them. When the majority of our actions in this world are vested in the commandments, then in the world of spirits we will learn to apply the commandments to all our deeds. We will become experts in following God's laws to the letter. Imagine what a wonderful life that will be when everyone, without exception, does those things which are pleasing to all.

By "let the Holy still be holy," are meant those people whose motivation is love and faith in the Lord God. This motivation for living a spiritual life also needs to be made more perfect. (God Himself having assumed his human in the Lord Jesus gave us an example of such a commitment which ultimately brought his Humanity back into his Own Glory.)

We say that in this world there is some good and some bad in everybody. I believe this is very true, nobody is completely good or completely evil.

The story is that in Mark Twain's time, a number of people were discussing the possibilities of eternity, and heaven and hell. Mark was sitting in a corner by himself. Someone wanted to draw him into the conversation and asked him what he thought about the subject. He put his finger to his lips and then whispered, "I don't know, I have friends in both places."

As Swedenborg writes, heaven and hell are pure conditions. There is no such thing as a little bit of heaven mixed with a little bit of hell. There is no wishy-washy heaven nor is there a wishy-washy hell. Both conditions are pure. The Mark Twains in this world will have to make their decision and choose their real friends who are either in hell or in heaven.

The Lord goes on, "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done." Coming soon means that the Lord has always been in charge from the beginning of time, is in charge now, and will always be in charge. God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

The reward that comes from having love and faith in Him and adhering to the Commandments is to have his light of unqualified love within us. The light within us will be the motivation to know and understand more and more of his spiritual heaven, and to share that with others.

May we make heaven the goal of life.

Scripture:

And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy."

"See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

"It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

Revelations 22:10-17

Reading from Swedenborg:

By "he that is unjust, let him be unjust still," is signified that a person who is in evils will be still more in evils, and by "he that is filthy, let him be filthy still," is signified that one who is in falsities will be still more in falsities; and on the other hand, by "he that is just let him be just still," is signified that one who is in goods will be still more in goods, and by "he that is holy, let him by holy still." is signified that a person who is in truths will be still more in truths. But the reason why it signifies that from those who are in evils goods will be taken away, and from those who are in falsities, truths will be taken away, and that on the contrary, from those who are in goods, evils will be taken away, and from those who are in truths, falsities will be taken away, is because as far as goods are taken away from any one who is in evils, so much the more the person is in evils, and as far as truths are taken away from any one who is in falsities, so much the more one is in falsities, and, on the other hand, as far as evils are taken away from any one who is in goods, so much the more is one in goods, and as far as falsities are taken away from any one who is in truths: either the one or the other happens to every one after death, for thus the evil are prepared for hell and the good for heaven; for the evil cannot carry with them goods and truths into hell, neither can the good carry evils and falsities into heaven, for this would be to confuse both heaven and hell together. But it should be clearly known that they are meant who are interiorly evil and interiorly good; for they who are interiorly evil may be exteriorly good, for they can act and speak like the good, as hypocrites do; and they who are interiorly good may sometimes be exteriorly evil, for they may exteriorly do evils, and speak falsities, but yet they may repent, and desire to be informed of truths.

Apocalypse Revealed #948

Music: Fragments of My Soul © 1999 Bruce DeBoer