About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman

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What If I Am Wrong

My life-long friend and brother in Jesus, Robert Bailey, teaches photography.  My wife Dianne calls herself an amateur photographer, although her photos look pretty professional.  While tagging along with Dianne with my camera, I think of the two most-spoken words uttered by photographers.  They are, "what if."  What if I had been here a minute earlier?  What if those hydro wires weren't there?  What if that bald eagle could have hung around a bit longer?  Most appropriately though, what if I was a better photographer?  The "what ifs" of photography are endless, and so are the "what ifs" of life. 

What if I had attended Aldersgate Free Methodist Bible College in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan as I considered instead of attending Elim Bible College in Lima, New York in 1975?  That one decision dictated much of my post-Bible college life.  If I had gone to Aldersgate, my two sons would not exist since I would not have married their mother who I met at Elim.  That's just one of many repercussions resulting from that one decision.          

What if upon my death I discover there is no God, no Jesus, and no eternity waiting for me?  Would my life as a Christian have been a complete waste?  Read Paul's thoughts on this in 1 Corinthians 15:19. 

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." 

To be contextually hermeneutical, the pronoun "we" in this verse refers to Paul and Christians in his day who were suffering greatly for their association with Jesus. 

The Greek verbs found in our English phrases "we have hope" and "we are of all people most to be pitied" in this verse tell me those suffering Christians were, by their new nature in Christ, inherently hopeful ones.  If their hope was never realized, their suffering lives should certainly be pitied.  Can I say the same about me, since I have not suffered for my association with Jesus as they suffered, or at least not yet?

If when I die I find there is no God, no Jesus, and no heaven, which I don't believe will be the case, my life as a Christian will not have been a life to be pitied because what the Bible teaches me has enhanced my life in so many ways.  Being a teenager in the 1960's explosion of drugs and free sex, for example, my Biblical lifestyle has protected me from many societal ills that could have destroyed me.  No matter what faces me upon my death, my life has been pretty good, or how about spiritually abundant, as I understand John 10:10.      

There is a spiritual reality to life that exceeds my God-given, yet limited, rational capabilities.  Something within me has been awakened, which I believe took place when the Spirit of God entered my very being.  Jesus said that's being "born again" (John 3:3 - 5).  Paul said it's becoming "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).  I say it's becoming "someone I have never been." 

In the final analysis, my Biblically transformative life has removed any what if there is no God, no Jesus, and no eternity.  If I am wrong, my life as a Christian still isn't to be pitied, as the lives of Paul and Christians in his day, for good reason, would have been.   

Post Script 

This photo of a Blue Heron was taken by my wife Dianne on March 23, 2024, on the shores of the Bay of Quinte, Belleville, Ontario, Canada.