If God's love is unconditional, then . . .

My grandson spent the night last night.  He was worn out, he said, from the previous Scout overnight, and would just like to chill.  So we chilled.  

We had macaroni for lunch, watched a good family film.  At dinner after he had said his grace, I took his hand and thanked God out loud for our special time together; and appreciated out loud some nice things about the boy.  As I look up after the Amen, he had a sweet smile of self-discovery.  Later we went for a walk in the neighborhood, and then he worked on his homework.

He asked a question about Jesus that came straight from his faith background - which I simply turned back to him, “What do you think?”  His answer told me he was wrestling with whether or not the Bible was valid.  At the wise age of 11 he has concluded, so far, that it is.

As he was ready to fall asleep, I reopened the Jesus subject with these ideas.  “Among Christian religions there are different opinions about Jesus.  Some believe he is God; and some believe he is the Son of God.  The important thing is that God is always with us, loving us.  And Jesus came to show us how to be good and do good.  And besides that, God loves us unconditionally.”

His eyebrows shot up, so I continued, “There is nothing you or I could do to ever make God love us less.”

One of life's many great journeys

Then the forever question, “What about Hitler?”  He was also asking, unspoken, “What about evil people?  Does God love them?  Does God allow evil?” 

“I think God does not like evil.  But he gives people good and useful ideas to stop evil things from happening.  But we have to act on these ideas.  We have to be willing to stop evil.”

Long silence as he thought on these things.  And just before he closed his eyes, “Grandma?"

"Yes?"

"Then we wouldn’t need a hell.”

“No,” I smiled. “We wouldn’t need a hell.”