W. C. Fields spent his last weeks in a hospital, where a friend stopped by for a visit and caught Fields reading the Bible. When asked why, Fields replied, "I'm checking for loopholes."[1]
When I heard this on the radio today, it made me laugh, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how tragic it was.
Fields, was "an avowed atheist [who] regarded all religions with the suspicion of a seasoned con man."[2] And yet, at the end of his life, he was drawn to the Word of God, possibly hoping that he might convince himself that God isn't real and that there is no heaven or hell...or at least if there is, that there might be some way for a man, who had denied the existance of God and squandered his life on sinful living to wiggle out of the sure consequences of such choices.
I doubt he found any loopholes. God's Word is very clear. There is a God, a Creator of the Universe, who loves each one of us so much that when we stood condemned by our sin, He sent His Son to pay the penalty for that sin, so that we might have a restored relationship with the Father and receive the promise of eternal life with Him after we leave this world.
That is the truth as found in the Bible. Whether we choose to believe it or to reject it does not change the truth, it only determines where we will spend our eternity.
As for me, I choose to believe it and if at the end of my life someone finds me reading my Bible, it won't be because I'm looking for loopholes. It will be because I am reading about my future!
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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
Footnotes:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields
2 - Jordan, S. C. (2008). Hollywood's original rat pack The bards of Bundy Drive. Lanham, Maryland [u.a.]: Scarecrow Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-8108-6032-5
When I heard this on the radio today, it made me laugh, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how tragic it was.
Fields, was "an avowed atheist [who] regarded all religions with the suspicion of a seasoned con man."[2] And yet, at the end of his life, he was drawn to the Word of God, possibly hoping that he might convince himself that God isn't real and that there is no heaven or hell...or at least if there is, that there might be some way for a man, who had denied the existance of God and squandered his life on sinful living to wiggle out of the sure consequences of such choices.
I doubt he found any loopholes. God's Word is very clear. There is a God, a Creator of the Universe, who loves each one of us so much that when we stood condemned by our sin, He sent His Son to pay the penalty for that sin, so that we might have a restored relationship with the Father and receive the promise of eternal life with Him after we leave this world.
That is the truth as found in the Bible. Whether we choose to believe it or to reject it does not change the truth, it only determines where we will spend our eternity.
As for me, I choose to believe it and if at the end of my life someone finds me reading my Bible, it won't be because I'm looking for loopholes. It will be because I am reading about my future!
--------------------------------------------------------
(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
Footnotes:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields
2 - Jordan, S. C. (2008). Hollywood's original rat pack The bards of Bundy Drive. Lanham, Maryland [u.a.]: Scarecrow Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-8108-6032-5
