Taxi Driver on Heaven and Hell

After another 8 working hours at the office on a day of a relatively fine weather, my officemates and I decided to immediately go home and hail a taxi.  There were four of us in the taxi (all guys). We instructed the driver to bring us to Sampaloc, Manila. By the way, I don’t really reside in Sampaloc. I’ve resided in Fairview, Quezon City since my childhood days. But I had decided, at that moment, to have a little bonding or fellowship first with my officemates at their crib in Manila before I went back home. Besides, I’ve also considered their crib a HOME to me ever since those nights when I USED TO frequent it, downing unbelievable amounts of alcohol in various forms, totally NOT caring at the fact that I’d still have to go home, and doing a little bit of crazy things like shooting a very amateur music video of Spongecola’s “Crazy for You” using a camera phone while shirtless just to fight the effects of hangover. But not anymore, congratulate me for I’m living a totally different life now barring perhaps my “crazy” side. Life is basically a cause and effect thing. There was a series of coincidences that happened and made me suddenly aware of the fact that I was actually pursuing a wrong and even destructive path. But I’ve digressed so let’s go back to that taxi driver thing. So I was having a very fun conversation in the taxi with my officemates mostly about Eli Soriano, a popular minister of a religious organization widely known as Ang Dating Daan, and his peculiar ways of indoctrination by sometimes humiliating the people who attempt to ask questions regarding spiritual truths or faith in general. I even injected in the conversation a very common bible verse in which Soriano made himself grossly “contradictory” by merely basing on those two different bible expositions on his evangelistic TV program that discussed the same bible verse I injected. We were having fun talking about it, I’d like to believe that, until the taxi driver surprisingly broke in our conversation. Apparently, this taxi driver also has a grasp on topics of spirituality like this. He professed that he’s a Christian, though he’s jumped from one church to another seemingly not contented by just one church to immerse himself. I’ve had an enormous respect for every single individual especially in the delicate aspect of his/her faith. I did give my respect to this taxi driver by becoming generally silent and tactful as well as to his spiritual awareness although the latter needs a total overhaul especially when he touched the topic of the eternal reality one would ultimately face after physical death: Heaven and Hell.

The taxi driver claimed that heaven is located somewhere along Quezon Avenue. He might have been pointing at that building I saw with a billboard of a woman caressing the chest of a man and the ad on it says somewhat like this, “Touching Generations.” And hell, according to him, can be found in Muntinlupa City where the murderers, rapists, and thieves are confined.

What a very shallow spiritual awareness this taxi driver has, I’ve got to say that. And he was claiming that he’s a Christian! Unbelievable! But I didn’t blurt that out in the taxi, of course. I was still a gentleman and respectful even at that right moment when I was ready and excited to evangelize yet he didn’t ask for it so why should I (1 Peter 3:15)? Besides, I think he’s too close-minded and I just hate spiritual debate, for Peter’s sake. Actually, I hate any kind of arguments at all and that’s probably one of the reasons why I left a reputable debate team in college. But going back, the taxi driver here has a very shallow level of faith and I think that it’s also pretty fair for me to say that he has none. Since his view on heaven and hell is limited only by what his senses could feel particularly by what he’s able to see. But faith is simply way beyond that. Faith is something we couldn’t see or our physical senses couldn’t feel but still, we hold on to it (Hebrews 11:3). Noah, nevertheless, had built an ark BEFORE the Great Flood occurred. He hadn’t seen at least an indication of a great flood coming, but he still built a vessel. And because of his obedience to God and his faith in Him, Noah as well as his family and the animals were rescued from such deluge. Another insight is this: Can humans (us) see the expanse of the universe? You might say, “Yes.” Through a telescope! But even the most powerful telescope in the world could not view the whole expanse of the universe. The universe is infinite and eternal like its Creator and it is continually expanding like His splendor. There are actually spheres of finite size like the Sun and all the planets, including our own, which revolve around it in what we call the solar system but as time goes by, astronomers have been surprised at the results they usually get which mainly conclude that this solar system we live in is just a tiny dot of a much bigger whole called the galaxy we call cutely as the Milky Way. And there are actually billions of galaxies in the universe or cosmos containing billions of stars! How great is our God, right!? I can’t even believe that this fact didn’t get into the taxi driver’s thinking by merely gazing at the night sky and the stars.

God does exist and we should all have faith in that reality (Hebrews 11:6). The bible can’t go wrong. It is flawless. He indeed created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). I love what the psalmist wrote in here: Psalm 19:1.

The bible is the truth and it is consistent. So what does the holy scripture really say about the heaven and hell in stark contrast to the taxi driver’s view? Many people believe in the reality of heaven than in the reality of hell. But hell is just as real as heaven. Of course, I haven’t experienced it personally but the bible tells us all that it is indeed real. Hell is really a terrible place where unbelievers are sent to after death. We all have sinned against God and thus we have fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23). Death is the just punishment for sin (Romans 6:23). We are separated from God because of sin and since God (like the universe once again) is infinite and eternal, His punishment for sin, which is death, must logically be infinite and eternal too. And therefore hell is the infinite and eternal death which we have all deserved because of sin. Hell, according to the Truth, is an unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). We don’t want to go there. None of us want to. And God loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to go there. We, of course, want to go to the joyous side which is heaven where bliss is eternal and where we’ll be able to hold unlimited karaoke parties praising God.

BUT hold on, how can we get to heaven?

As simple as accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior! Who is this Jesus? You might ask. This person actually walked on earth about 2,000 years ago. No scholar doubts His earthly existence. He is God in flesh (Col. 2:9). He performed miracles before a crowd, turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). He resurrected from physical death (Luke 24:34). He’s been experiencing the reality of heaven and even sitting at the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34). He’s the greatest testimony that heaven is real. Certainly not me and not you! You simply cannot pay for your sin because you are not God! He alone, Jesus Christ, paid for all the sins of mankind by suffering and dying on the cross. His blood washed away all the sins of the world and Jesus rescued us from the wrath of an eternal God. We are so small compared to God (think of the universe once again). So insignificant! Therefore, God demanded an infinite and eternal price for all our sins but because He loves us so much and He knows we cannot pay for all our sins through our efforts, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, who is infinite and eternal enough for a payment. The son became the sacrifice! We should all be grateful for this undeserved favor (grace). We just have to confess our sins, beg for His forgiveness, ACCEPT HIM, live a life according to His will, use the talents He gave us in His glory, and then we’ll get to heaven after death. And death would not be a terrifying thought anymore. As simple as that! There are no steps, actually, to get to heaven. By just accepting Him or having GENUINE faith in what He did for all of us, good things will surely follow. But I’m telling you, it’s also a difficult ride while we are still living. It’s a spiritual warfare since this world is already cursed and thereby imperfect. We have to completely throw away our old lives that we essentially live for ourselves in order to satisfy our temporary and temporal desires. We should instead live for Him.

I’ll just pray for that taxi driver to accept Jesus. I want to go to heaven with him, seriously. But not just now! I have to go to work tomorrow.

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