
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
So began the classic song โImagineโ by John Lennon. As a former Beatles fan, and more specifically, a John Lennon fan, I used to love that song. I remember a time before the Lord grabbed ahold of me that I actually said that I wanted that song at my funeral one day. Itโs interesting how oneโs perspective changes upon meeting Jesus. Today, thatโs probably the last song Iโd want at my memorial.
Over this past Christmas season, my son loaned me a rather controversial book. I wonโt mention the name of the book here, but suffice it to say that the author, a prominent church leader, had some pretty bizarre views of heaven, and more specifically, of hell. I wondered if perhaps the author of that book was an โImagineโ fan too. At the very least, he seemed to have quite an imagination.
To the best of my knowledge, John Lennon never professed a faith in Jesus Christ before being assassinated. However, God Himself will be the judge of that. Still, I cannot help but wonder how many other ways we sometimes โImagineโ the things of God to be. Could there really be some Christians out there somewhere who also โImagine thereโs no heavenโ and who are equally convinced that there in also โno hell below us?โ How many other ways arenโt we also perhaps imagining God to be that doesnโt line up with proper hermeneutics? Sometimes it all seems to me a bit like weโve created some new kind of gospel.
A Different Gospel
The Apostle Paul wondered about the same sort of thing when he said, โI am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel โ which is really no gospel at allโ (Galatians 1:6,7; NIV). Wow, I guess some things never change.