2 Nephi 26

(August 7, 2014)

                C. S. Lewis advocated the approach that ultimately each person would be invited back into the presence of God.  Our Final Judgment, then, is a simple question of whether or not we want to live with Him and like Him.  On the day that anyone is condemned, says Lewis, the one pleading for the sinner to stay and repent would be the Savior.

                Ultimately I find this very persuasive.  Between what we know about righteousness and wickedness (and the discomfort the wicked have in the presence of God), this is not surprising.  Add to that the fact that this chapter is filled to the brim with language that seems to support that position, and while I don’t know I wouldn’t be surprised if Professor Lewis was correct.

                Of course the problem with this is that it is too easy for us to allow ourselves to be confused by it.  We think to ourselves that if we ultimately choose, we will just choose to be with God and receive Exaltation and all will be well.  But that isn’t the way things go.  I have seen people so immersed in sin and self-deception that they would almost certainly turn away from the Lord if given the chance to today.  I have been sufficiently immersed in sin and self-deception myself that once upon a time I would likely have been in the same position.

                The Judgment analogy is valuable, even if we are the ones doing the judging.  That is because the decision that we make at that point will be the culmination of a lifetime of decisions along the way.  Do we live our lives so that we want to live the life that God lives?  Or do we live a life that compels us to settle well below our potential?