I am not a huge fan of baseball or of any sport for that matter. However, I did watch the Chicago Cubs make it to the World Series back in 2016. It was very exciting. Since then, I have watched a little more baseball than I used to. A reason that it is only a little more is partly due to my lack of interest in watching sports but also because the Cubs have not had any ability to recreate the excitement they were able to create back in 2016. I do believe that baseball is a true sport of skill and ability as opposed to just size and strength, though.

However, there are a few TV shows that I have followed like others watch their favorite sports team. For example, I love the way that The Simpsons‘ include philosophy in their jokes, especially in the earlier seasons. For example, a famous episode of the Simpsons, has the Simpsons go to a faith healer to get a bucket off of Homer’s head (Season 11, episode 11). The preacher (voiced by Don Cheadle) tries to convince Bart to give up his free-wheeling ways to follow God. Bart states he prefers to go with the life of sin followed by the presto-change-o deathbed repentance. The preacher thinks about that for a moment and says that that is a great angle but that Bart should consider following God during life too in order to be covered in case of sudden death. Full coverage! This makes Bart want to become a faith healer, at least for a little while.

Bart-I figure I’ll go for the life of sin, followed by the presto-change-o deathbed repentance. – YouTube

There are many stories of people accepting the Lord at the last minute and entering into the Lord’s presence at death. I remember a story that I heard in 2002 about a firefighter who had entered one of the towers of the World Trade Center during 9/11. It is said that he rescued a woman who then witnessed to him and the firefighter accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, right there. Shortly thereafter, the firefighter was killed inside the building. Later another man, related to that firefighter, had a NDE where he saw that firefighter in Heaven. I am glad that he slid into home at the last minute!

There is also the story of the “Good Thief” at the side of Christ. He obviously did not follow Jesus until the last minute. I do not think he was waiting for the presto-change-o conversion moment. He just got smart and stole Heaven!

There are those who think that a presto-change-o deathbed conversion is not enough.  These people are bitter and say that these people do not deserve Heaven! I personally believe that no human deserves it!  No matter how much we have suffered here on Earth or how “good” we have been and said “no” to drinking or dancing or listening to Heavy Metal rock music, I do not think we deserve it. I do not think Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, or Mel Gibson deserves it. But can someone like Adolph Hitler or Jeffrey Dahmer or Mick Jagger or Charles Darwin be forgiven after their lives of sin on their deathbeds? Thankfully, the Lord decides who gets to be with Him for eternity, not me!

I guess that it matters how you see God’s forgiveness. Jesus tells His disciples the story of the workers in the field and how they were all paid the same despite the amount of time they put into working in the harvest (Matthew 20:1-16). Jesus’ sense of fairness is definitely different from our own! I see those people as having missed out though. I see them as having missed out on the abundant life that Jesus promised. They missed out on lives full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control that only the Lord could give them. But at least they made it! I believe we need to see it that way!  I am glad to see as many sincere people as possible sliding into home! Personally, I think that the Kingdom of God is closer in analogy to squeezing as many people as possible in the fallout shelter/bunker when the bombs are coming!  I think that it is an issue of saving as many as possible, even if it is at the last minute! Let the Lord decide if they made or not!

Matthew 7:13-14