In yesterday’s paper, a syndicated columnist wrote about Tony Snow, the White House Press Secretary, and his battle with cancer. He said that Tony made this statement, ” when you’re faced with death, you don’t really die, you get to go to a cooler place with maybe a sterner teacher.” (italics mine)
What’s wrong with this statement?
The temperature of our final resting place is debatable, but what tripped me up was the reference to a ”sterner teacher.”
Since Tony Snow has declared himself a Christian, there’s no doubt in my mind that the sterner teacher he refers to is the Christian God.
For me, this is one of the underlying problems with Christianity, i.e., Christians serve a God that is stern — a God that gets angry and punishes you when you don’t follow the rules.
I was a devoted, active Christian for over 15 years, so I’m very familiar with why Christians believe this way.
Fortunately, I opened my mind a few years ago and discovered that God is not a harsh taskmaster. Rather …
God is Love.
This doesn’t simply mean that God loves me. It means God IS love. When you truly understand the impact of this statement, it’s almost mind-boggling. But once you believe it … and accept it fully into your spirit … you know there is no “sterner teacher” awaiting you at the close of life.
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