"The Last Things" pt. 2

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest" - Mt. 11:28

As I mentioned last week citing von Balthasar's observations on the matter, Christ himself is the "eschata" - the "last things" of the creature. He comes from the Eternal Father as a man, in time at a particular moment of human history. But he does not emerge from within it as we do. He comes in from the outside. God becomes part of His own creation. How often do any of us believers actually sit back and think about how incredible that is?

This God-Man then transforms everything we experience as human beings by mysteriously incorporating it all into himself: birth, growing up, learning, suffering, friendship, work, eating, sleeping, even death. There is no longer any corner of the human condition with which God, in the Person of Christ, is not intimately familiar. He is everywhere we are and he calls to us with love, encouragement, and grace around every turn.

But God respects our freedom implicitly, far more than we respect it or anyone else's! He, unlike us, will not (cannot) ever force or coerce anyone to choose the good. He is love itself, and real love is never forced. And so, the "final destination" is entirely tied to one's relation to Christ. If I choose him, it is called heaven. If I reject him, that is called hell. If I still have baggage which must be left at his door before going inside, it is called "purgatory", the process of abandoning every last obstacle. And as he gazes deeply into my very being, I cannot hide who I am, who I have made myself to be in life. That is what "judgement" truly is.

These "Four Last Things" are not distinct categories or separate experiences. They are my ultimate encounter with God, who is Reality Himself!