No tears in Heaven?

      "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" is one of the most famous sermons of the 18th century.  It was a pivotal defining moment in modern Christianity leading to the first "Great Awakening" movement sweeping across America.  This mindset of God's condemnation has become so pervasive that the common perception of the lost is one of "God sending someone to Hell" for their sins.

    In June 1944 there were two great amphibious landings.  Everyone knows the importance of D-Day in Normandy but also 10 days later in the Pacific the Marines invaded the island of Saipan.  The invasion force consisted of 500 ships and 120000 men.  At Saipan the Japanese civilians and the native Chamorro people were told great lies about the brutality they could expect from the American invaders.  While the Japanese army had in fact been guilty of indiscriminate killings and rapes all across the theater, the US invaders would do nothing of the kind.   Any criminal conduct was rare and the military planners had brough food, medical supplies, and even pre-fabricated housing for the civilian population of the island.

    Despite all these measures the many of the civilians fled to the far north of the island as the Marines forced the Japanese to retreat.  Once there they had nowhere to run and believing the lies that they had been told many civilians decided to jump to their deaths into the shark filled waters below.  They had believed the lie that the Marines were coming to destroy them.  Marines that had spent weeks fighting and killing Japanese soldiers watched in horror as civilian old men and women threw their children and then themselves into the ocean.

 

Banzai Cliff Saipan

    Despite the common belief that God sits in Heaven waiting to judge anyone who has for whatever reason broken any of his arbitrary rules, the reality is quite different and much more tragic.  The reality is that God sits in Heaven in complete heartbreak while he watches helpless as thousands of people he loves throw themselves over the cliff.  

     No matter how badly he wants to, God can't force us to love him.  He can't stop us from walking away from him and throwing ourselves off that cliff.  Any parent who has lost a child to addiction or other self destructive behavior knows exactly how God feels about his lost children.  You would do anything in your power to , but you can't make the choice for them.

    The Bible notes how "Jesus Wept" after the death of his friend Lazarus which is one of the many examples of how God posses the entire range of emotions that we do.  He grieves even more for those that are lost than we humans ever can.  He rejoices for those that do turn off the wide road and come back to him even more than we can conceive.  

This video shows exactly how God feels about the lost.

        In June 1944, 18 year old PFC Guy Gabaldon was part of the invasion force.  From Mexican descent, he lived and was partially raised by a Japanese family learning the language.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 and was assigned to the 2nd Marines preparing for the invasion.  Once the invasion force landed, his conversational Japanese was in high demand integrating prisoners.  At night he snuck out beyond the American lines and started convincing Japanese soldiers and civilians to surrender.  

    Ultimately "The Pied Piper of Saipan" would facilitate the peaceful surrender of 1500 people who would have otherwise been killed outright or have jumped off those cliffs.  He wasn't always successful and was eventually wounded by some of the holdouts during the final days of the battle.  His heroic actions earned him the Navy Cross (the second highest award for valor).

    Despite our best efforts to run away from God and refuse to follow his path, God came down to Earth and lived among us.  He chose to sacrifice himself so that we would have a way home.   He loves us so much that he would do anything to give us the opportunity to turn back to him.  That is the message of Easter.