The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9)

Sometimes the feeling doesn't come first ...as we often don't know how to feel.  And how can one feel an emotion about something when they perhaps don't believe in that something??

I can feel sorry that someone has a door ding on their car ...but, I'm not going to feel remorse if I don't believe I was the one who did it.  I'm not going to feel like I should confess, or repent.

But, I guess I can start by believing the door ding exists. And I can believe that sad, or even bad things exist in our world.

I can also believe good things exist in this world. I could make a list of all the good things I can think about that happened in the past, the things that I now consider good things, and any future hope of good things.

A person who is overwhelmed by bad things, could begin focusing on good things ...and it may actually help them make it through the day with less of a struggle.

A person could focus on something good they could possibly look forward to ...and it may make the day easier.

And a person who doesn't quite know what to believe, could focus on believing that perhaps the good in this world will not just one day all disappear, but there is a place set aside for the good.

You may then just become sad, doubting whether you'd qualify for the place set aside for the good.  Not to get you down, but you don't qualify ...and I don't either, none of us do. But, we were never intended to meet the qualification ...Jesus meets the qualification.

This is the point where perhaps you don't know what to believe ...and you hear people saying you should feel guilt and remorse, and feel sorry for your sins.  But, perhaps you could just begin with believing in Jesus.  Repentance is often defined by words such as guilt and remorse, but it also means 'change' ...so if you don't know what to believe, give it a try. 

The emotions don't have to come first ---it's like a 'free trial' ---just be willing to try.

Speaking of 'willing to try' ...we all do have 'free will'.  We may not have free will to do anything we want, but we freely decide whether we like it, or not.

Do you like the idea of Heaven??

Suppose you were in a long narrow hallway with many doors ...and a raging bull. You frantically try the first couple doors near you, but they are locked.  Then you hear a voice that says, "My door is unlocked, it's the fifth door on your right ...assuming you're going to try to move quickly away from the bull, not towards him."

Salvation to you at this moment would likely be racing to that fifth door before the bull charges with a full head of steam. There is nothing you'd want more than separating yourself from that bull.

Now, you may say the bull cannot help it ...but, who is going to say they wished they'd had more of a chance to spend time with the bull. You want separation, and you want it now!!

So, you quickly reach the fifth door on the right before the bull even reacts.  But, he is reacting now!!  Thankfully, you were told correctly ...and the door is unlocked.

But, what if as soon as you are safely in that room, and close the door, you find yourself in the room with another bull??

Heaven requires separation, and though some people may be a bit bull-headed, if those people are totally against God, then if they were allowed in Heaven, then Heaven would be no different than earth. 

There are people who disagree, and they view God in a way where they are not glorifying Him.
They attempt to judge God by saying He metes out judgment or mercy by His unfair whims. But, God loves us all, and He desires that none of us would perish ...though some people seem to want to live this life without having anything to do with God.  

Why do people want nothing to do with God?? Well, some feel they have good reason ...because they view God in a way differently than I do.  And I understand why they view Him differently, as I often hear people misrepresenting God ...not giving an accurate description of who He is, not glorifying Him.

To what great lengths would God go to ...to show us truly who He is, and how much He cares??  Allowing the crucifixion of His Son is how far His love extends.

When Jesus came over 2,000 years ago, He didn't add to the confusion, He glorified the Father, who was being misrepresented ...and much was cleared up which was previously being falsely presented by the self-proclaimed leaders. And we can read of how Jesus set it straight ...and directed us, in not only leading us, but also in instructing us to lead others.

Today, we have a sometimes frustrating task ...though it is only our part to glorify (accurately describe) Him as He has already described Himself in His Word, the Bible. I don't believe we are to argue science with those who attempt to use it to turn us away from Him.  We should not let the conversation take us down a path of doubting Him ...or doubting His Word.

One may say, "I'm not worshiping created things, like false deities ...or even man's accomplishments."  Yet, I would not be so rash to consider that we are in a safe place with all that.

Romans 1:25 says, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator."

Some people say Adam & Eve were in a paradise, and though there will be more than a couple people in Heaven, it is also considered a paradise.  The difference is, no crafty serpent will be sneaking into Heaven to misrepresent God, turning anyone against Him ...like what happened in the Garden of Eden when Eve was exposed to that lie.

The Garden of Eden is not longer there, but the lie is still constantly lurking around in our present lives.  The lie wants to live with us for eternity.

What should we do??

Well, there's that 'free choice' again.  We can abandon one lie, and embrace another ...but, that's all part of the big lie.

If you believe God doesn't exist, is that the professed truth you want to live with for eternity??  Don't blame God if you choose to exist where He doesn't. It makes me sad to think anyone would reject God ---and I can't imagine how He feels about it, except I know He wants to be in your life now ---no matter what choices you've made in the past.

God wants to be in your life now, and He wants you to be with Him for eternity. It's sort of a package deal ...the best anyone could ever hope for, and I hope to see you all in Heaven some day.

We'll have lots of time to meet, and I look forward to it ...for us, eternity moves forward.  And maybe there will even be pet bulls there.