If God is mercirful, why do so few people make it?

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Eman267

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Scripture tells us very few people are saved. How does this exist with God also being merciful? A remnant, that’s all?

Is 10:18 My people shall be consumed, soul and body; and the remainder will be so **few, **that any boy could record them.

Mt 7:14 How **narrow **the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Is 10:22 Like the sands of the sea, were My people, only a very small number of them will return; their destruction is decreed as overwhelming justice demands.

Is 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a **remnant **of them will be saved; 9:28 for the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch.”

Is 8:15 “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.”

RM 11:5 It is the same today, for a few (remnant) of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.
 
I think it can go a long way in saying that absolutely God is merciful. But us not so much. Even when mercy is shown because of our free will, well we can shove it right back in someones face.
 
A Saint can say the words so much better then I ever could:

**"God is so good that when He sees a sinner running to his ruin, He runs after him, calls him, entreats and accompanies him even to the gates of hell; what will He not do to convert him? He sends him good inspirations and holy thoughts, and if he does not profit from them, He becomes angry and indignant, He pursues him. Will He strike him? No. He beats at the air and forgives him. But the sinner is not converted yet. God sends him a mortal illness. It is certainly all over for him. No, brothers, God heals him; the sinner becomes obstinate in evil, and God in His mercy looks for another way; He gives him another year, and when that year is over, He grants him yet another.

But if the sinner still wants to cast himself into hell in spite of all that, what does God do? Does He abandon him? No. He takes him by the hand; and while he has one foot in hell and the other outside, He still preaches to him, He implored him not to abuse His graces. Now I ask you, if that man is damned, is it not true that he is damned against the Will of God and because he wants to be damned?"**
  • St. Leonard of Port Maurice
 
God chooses us, but few of us choose him back. Few are willing to make God #1 in their lives, so they miss out on the miracles, blessings, and excitement in life.
 
Does anyone know who makes it? Only God knows.

But Mt 7:14…look at our world and how people are consumed by materialism. As for

God’s mercy, I know how merciful He has been to me, a sinner, but for the grace of

Christ Jesus shedding His blood. Undeserved grace.

Jesus is for all people, for the whole world. God loves you.
Eman267 said:
Scripture tells us very few people are saved. How does this exist with God also being merciful? A remnant, that’s all?

Is 10:18 My people shall be consumed, soul and body; and the remainder will be so **few, **that any boy could record them.

Mt 7:14 How **narrow **the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Is 10:22 Like the sands of the sea, were My people, only a very small number of them will return; their destruction is decreed as overwhelming justice demands.

Is 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a **remnant **of them will be saved; 9:28 for the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch.”

Is 8:15 “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.”

RM 11:5 It is the same today, for a few (remnant) of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.
Click to expand...
 
Love the words of St. Louis. A potential realistic example of this can be found in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. Although no human can truly understand our final judgement, this book does a great job illustrating that it is in fact possible to reject grace. Highly reccommend it.
 
We have no objective evidence or proof that “so few people make it.”

Yes, we have biblical warnings that few of us will make it. But warnings are not objective proof. Based on our own efforts, none of us (OK few) would make it. We can make it ONLY by God’s infinite Mercy. That is His Call not our’s.

We are told that God’s Ways are high above man’s ways. So that alone tells us we cannot presume what God will or will not do based on our human understanding.

But given man’s understanding, it does not seem reasonable that a Loving God would send His Only Son to suffer and die for “so few.” At every Mass, at the consecration of the wine, the priest states that the sins of MANY will be forgiven. Many is certainly not “few” and certainly not “all.”

We are called to Faith, Hope, and Love. Love being the greatest. We are called to continually develop our Faith in God and maintain our Hope for Eternal Salvation, while we try to love God and others as best we can.

I am particulary grateful for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. When I receive these Sacraments worthily, I know that I am not rejecting God and have every reason to Hope He will not reject me because He loves and appreciates my best efforts.
 
Regina_Love said:
God chooses us, but few of us choose him back. Few are willing to make God #1 in their lives, so they miss out on the miracles, blessings, and excitement in life.
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In spite of it all, God somehow wants more of us to be born?

Why?

Chances are most of us will choose to reject His love and be damned anyway.
 
Sarcelle said:
In spite of it all, God somehow wants more of us to be born?
Why?
Chances are most of us will choose to reject His love and be damned anyway.
Click to expand...
It is hard for most humans to fully appreciate God’s INFINITE LOVE. God made each of us because He LOVES us and wants us to share His love not only in this world but in the next.

We are called to love others for the love of God. Love is wanting and working for the ULTIMATE good of the loved one. Is not the ultimate good eternity in Heaven? It is on us to reach out to those in our lives who fail to understand God’s Love well enough to respond to it properly. Are we prepared to leave them be and risk they will reject God because we did not speak out for God?

Individuals reject God because they are looking for love in all the wrong places. Wealth, pleasure, power, honor, etc will not fill the longing deep in our hearts for true Love. Nothing short of God will fill up that infinite longing within us.

That’s hard to understand. But we are called to try to help others understand and to understand it even better ourselves.

As for chances of more failures - that goes against HOPE.
 
Eman267 said:
Scripture tells us very few people are saved. How does this exist with God also being merciful? A remnant, that’s all?

Is 10:18 My people shall be consumed, soul and body; and the remainder will be so **few, **that any boy could record them.

Mt 7:14 How **narrow **the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Is 10:22 Like the sands of the sea, were My people, only a very small number of them will return; their destruction is decreed as overwhelming justice demands.

Is 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a **remnant **of them will be saved; 9:28 for the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch.”

Is 8:15 “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.”

RM 11:5 It is the same today, for a few (remnant) of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.
Click to expand...
:highprayer::signofcross::gopray2:
 
GratefulFred said:
We are told that God’s Ways are high above man’s ways. So that alone tells us we cannot presume what God will or will not do based on our human understanding.
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I think this is the best way to look at it. It’s not man’s way to have children and then damn them for eternity.

I heard that only 30% of Catholics attend mass on a regular basis. So 70% commit mortal sin at the drop of a hat, wow. If you interviewed that 70% I don’t think they would see themselves rejecting God’s mercy but would probably say they have a person relationship with Him (not that you said that, just said in a post above).

In my own life I see too many people banking on God’s mercy, they see Him an earthly father that will always look out no matter what. But God let’s blind people lead other blind people and both of them fall into a pit. In fact St. Paul tells us that it’s God that hand’s a man over to sin: Rom 1:28 since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, GOD HANDED THEM OVER to their BLIND and THOUGHTLESS mind to do what is improper. 1:29 They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite.

I think attention needs to be brought to verses like this in hope that more than a remnant survive.
 
Salvation is a serious endevor and not to be taken lightly.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I cannot think of a single thing that I want less for anyone than that they don’t make it. It is a terrible idea to even think about much less wish on someone.

A person dies like they live. If they live without thinking God is important in their life, then at the hour of their death, they will think God isn’t important then as well. How could they think otherwise, since that is the frame of their mind.

Jesus said to Peter to put up his sword, for those who live by the sword, die by the sword.
Meaning the way we live will be the way we die. What can God mean to someone at death if God never meant that much in life. It is a default of man’s thinking at death, to think the way they always think.

I don’t see it as a deliberate act of the will in a rejection of God, but rather just a lack of believing that God is necessary since they have been without him so far. They do not have anything in them that makes them want God since their awareness of God has never been cultivated and God has no depth of meaning for them. So why would God’s mercy even enter their thought when they don’t know God.

As one post reminded us that 70% or so, miss Sunday obligation. This is only one stat in which they do not care about Jesus nor value him. Why would they do so at death? They have become in practical terms, agnostic, or even half breed atheists.

His mercy is always there, but we do have to ask for it and not presume we will automatically be saved.

Just some life observations of people.

However we do have help from Mary even in these hopeless situations.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthrea…=544742&page=3

My father, a fallen-away Catholic, passed away several years ago. When he first became ill and was hospitalized, one of the Vincentian priest pinned a Green Scapular to his pillow. I know my mother was especially worried about his salvation, as he had not awakened following emergency surgery. He did awaken many days later, and that same Vincentian asked if he wished to receive the sacraments. He was on a ventilator, so he could not speak, but he could indicate “yes” or “no”, so the priest simply asked if he was sorry for any and all sins he committed, then he was given Extreme Unction. This was 2 years to the day of my auto accident, August 3rd. He died 2 days later, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows on August 5th. There is a promise attached to the Green Scapular that Our Lady will obtain the conversion of those who have fallen away from the True Faith. I’m convinced she did so with my father, the day of his death was clearly Providential.
 
Better question is this. Why do so many people reject God when God is love?
 
Eman267 said:
Scripture tells us very few people are saved. How does this exist with God also being merciful? A remnant, that’s all?

Is 10:18 My people shall be consumed, soul and body; and the remainder will be so **few, **that any boy could record them.

Mt 7:14 How **narrow **the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Is 10:22 Like the sands of the sea, were My people, only a very small number of them will return; their destruction is decreed as overwhelming justice demands.

Is 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a **remnant **of them will be saved; 9:28 for the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch.”

Is 8:15 “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.”

RM 11:5 It is the same today, for a few (remnant) of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.
Click to expand...
 
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St_Hilary:
You are saved by following the commandments. Remember, God does not place ourself in heaven nor hell, it is ourself because qwe have the rules to follow to get to heaven.
will tell us the greatest commandments areb love of God and of neiighbor.’’

Have you loved your neighbor as you have God? WE will be judged on this.

God bless you
 
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