Heb. 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment”
I don’t know that there’s somebody out there waiting to welcome me into the pearly gates,” she says. “I am more and more thinking that maybe this is it and there’s nothing afterward.”
I don’t normally read The Hollywood Reporter. Truth is, I never read it, but this morning a headline caught my eye about a retired, now 81-year-old Hollywood publicist who served actor Tom Cruise for 14 years. The headline was, “Pat Kingsley Finally Talks: Tom Cruise, Scientology and What She’s Doing Now.”
I’m not terribly interested in Hollywood or movie stars, but I admit a curiosity about Scientology. Mostly, I find it baffling that people can scoff so adamantly at the Bible, but embrace ideas and beliefs established by men with vivid imaginations. I don’t question sincerity or zeal, but I do question validity because I believe God’s Word is the pattern for our lives guiding us to Heaven.
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Christ is the only path to God. Not L. Ron Hubbard or any other man. Only Jesus Christ. But, back to the story that caught my attention today.
Pat Kingsley shares some stories of her years managing the publicity for stars like Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplain and Tom Cruise. There are lots of famous people in her past. She retired a few years ago and now lives far more modestly than her finances would allow.
That quote at the beginning is directly from the article. It’s her quote, but it follows this paragraph…
“Mortality has begun to vex her, and especially her loss of faith. Once, she notes, she would read the Bible every day — a chapter from the Old Testament and a chapter from the New — and she even taught Sunday school in her 20s. But now she has doubts, and they’re growing.”
Doubts grow. Faith dies. Hope is lost.
But one word jumps out from her quote about this life. “I am more and more thinking that maybe this is it and there’s nothing afterward.”
Questions leap to mind.
What if she’s wrong?
What are the basis of her thoughts?
Does it matter what she thinks? Will her thoughts determine reality?
What are the standards for her life, my life and your life? Are they all different?
Does God care how we live, or what we believe, or how we worship (or even IF we worship)?
Matthew 13:3-9 “And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He that hath ears, let him hear.”
Our faith – our belief – has only one source, God’s Word. It’s not miraculous. It’s not supernatural. Based on what Christ taught in those passages above, it hinges on our heart (our mind). We’re devoted to faith or we’re not. We guard our faith or we lose it. We grow our faith or it dies.
Rom. 10:17 “So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
A funeral isn’t the saddest thing. There are lots of things worse than dying physically.
No death is sadder than the death of faith in God and Jesus Christ.
Luke 21:8 “And he said, Take heed that ye be not led astray: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he; and, The time is at hand: go ye not after them.”
Heb. 3:12 “Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God:”
This is not an indictment of Ms. Kingsley. God is the judge of us all. Rather, it’s a warning to all of us to “take heed.” Our faith is always at risk. The world and the forces working against God are always poised to rob us of our faith unless we stand fast and fight.
Our prayer is that all who will, may be able to echo the words Paul wrote to Timothy.
2Tim. 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:”
