Providence & Human Freedom

Posted on June 20, 2025 by Father Joe

The stopgap of purgatory fuels our trust in Christ’s mercy but should not fool us into thinking it is a certain backdoor to heaven. We must aim for heaven. Anything less and we risk missing the target altogether. None of this means that salvation is a gamble. Those with a faith realized in loving obedience can walk in the sure and certain hope of their salvation in Christ. There is a profound mystery in this regard between the providence of God and human freedom, in either cooperating with or inhibiting the movement of divine grace.

As believers, the prospect of perdition might seem harsh, but God loved us so much that he wanted our loving response to him to be free. He could have made us like mindless robots or insects controlled by instinct; however, we were made in the image of God— by nature shy of the dignity belonging to angels, but as consciously aware, unique intermediaries between the spiritual and material worlds.

Divine judgment might seem harsh but ultimately, God gives us what we want. But do we really know what we want? I suspect that many have a false view of heaven where egos are bloated and narcissism reigns. This is a far cry from the Christian view of heaven as a realm focused entirely upon the Trinity. We must become God-centered with a selfless empathy for others. Many self-possessed people would object to a necessary deflation or spiritual emptying, so that Christ might be all in all. Indeed, many apparently confuse the definitions of heaven and hell.

I have imagined that the judgment of God comes along with “a great awakening,” a moment of personal awareness where we see ourselves as we really are. Note that this supernatural divulgement comes at the end of life because to see ourselves as God sees us would be horrifying for most and many would likely drop dead. Such judgment relies both upon mercy and truth. The Lord will salvage what he can but in the final analysis the truth prevails. There can be no deception or false humility under this light of verity. God will not force us to love him or waylay souls over the threshold into heaven.