Getting past tomorrow

I believe in reincarnation.  I believe that the souls of those who have passed on can return.  I don't believe in a Buddhist style reincarnation.  In fact, I doubt if my views of reincarnation are shared by very many, if any, others.

There is a Jewish belief in reincarnation.  Go ahead and research that if you would like.  It isn't really popular and there is a lot of discussion and debate about exactly how it works.  None of that really matters.

So what do I believe about reincarnation?

I don't believe in time, so souls can live a life time in the present, then a life time in the past and a life time in the future or at any time.  A father can be reincarnated as his own son, a son can be reincarnated as his own father.

Why?  Suppose a soul hasn't really made a choice between God and Chaos, yet the body dies.  Some say God sends that soul to hell.  I don't believe that.  I think it is more likely that God gives those souls who are on the "fence" as many chances as they need to make a choice between Heaven and Hell.

Suppose a father, like mine, was an abusive jerk who treated his son like crap.  Why wouldn't God send that same soul back to become the abused son?   Suppose the son hates the father and can not forgive?  What happens?

Suppose someone commits suicide, why wouldn't God send them back to relive their life over again?

What is a "soul connection" or a "soul mate"?  It could be the same soul living two different lifetimes or it could be two lovers who have been reborn.  It is a connection of love that transcends life and death.  Ever felt an instant connection to someone?  Ever felt "love at first sight"?  Welcome to this connection between people.

So what does this mean for regular people?  Nothing really, the purpose of life is still to choose between God and Chaos.  If someone decides that they never have to decide they have chosen Chaos.  If someone really chooses God they have no need to live any other lives and they go to judgment.

The rest of us continue to live, die and be reborn without any knowledge of our past lives except in dreams or these instant connections to other people.

It also means that if we fail to forgive others, we really might be failing to forgive ourselves.  Think about that, could the person who hurt you and you share a soul at different points in that soul's development?  If we demand revenge against someone, could we be demanding that we ourselves are punished?

When I realized that God gave us as many chances as we needed, almost like playing a video game, I felt less pressure to divorce myself from this world.  That was a mistake.  In fact, it makes it more important to divorce myself from this world.  This helped me realize that this is very probably my last life.  My last chance to focus on God.

This last dating fiasco I went through helped me to realize that I am still very much attached to this world when I should be attached to God.

That creates a problem for me, because it means I have to learn how to focus on God and God is teaching me to do that.  Imagine that, God cares enough to teach me that the things, the people of this world, are unreliable, undependable.  God wants me to focus my life on God, and God is doing everything possible to make that happen.

For me, the reality is that the only path from today into tomorrow and the future in eternity is through Christ.

Should Christians believe in Reincarnation?  Yes, but, it is not important for salvation.  Reincarnation does play a part in Christ's story though.

One of the prophesies fulfilled is the prophesy that Elijah, who was taken bodily into heaven, would return to make the way for the Messiah.  Today Jewish people set a place for Elijah at passover to emphasize that Elijah has not returned.

In Luke 1:17 we are told that John the Baptist will go forth in the Spirit and Power of Elias.  In Matthew 11 Christ tells us, in reference to John the Baptist, "this is Elias".  In Matthew 17 Christ tells us "Elias is come already" in reference to John the Baptist.  In Mark 9 Christ tells us that Elias is come, again in reference to John the Baptist.  In John 1 though, John the Baptist is asked if is Elias and John denies being Elias, or more properly, Elijah.

What happened here is that Elijah was reborn as John the Baptist.  This is how God chose to fulfill the prophesy.