I came across this idea in something I read recently ... could you see Hitler in heaven? Before you make a judgement, just stop and think. You could read this several different ways, for instance; "Could you see ADOLF HITLER in heaven?", ... or perhaps "Could YOU see Adolf Hitler in heaven?".
When I first read this I thought to myself; "yea I suppose God's grace is enough to cover anyone's sin" (but of course I concluded; "in theory") ... I mean after all, Hitler ordered the execution and genocide of millions of people, the atrocities of which is literally hard for me to even fathom! I'm not sure what my response would be if I were living in a German rural township hearing the wailing of human agony in the train cars as they went by again and again ... carried off to God knows where ... to succumb to God knows what.
Certainly if there is a heaven, this guy isn't getting in ... right ... ?
Then I thought to myself, how would I feel if I did in fact get to those ever precious pearly gates, King Jesus welcoming me in only to find ADOLF HITLER waiting there joyously as well?
How would you feel? ... Would you be surprised? ... Would you be shocked? ... Would you feel repulsiveness and disappointment?
Would you feel elated?
I believe as we ask ourselves these types of questions, something in our hearts can be revealed ... perhaps our own prejudice and self-righteousness for instance. If seeing Adolf Hitler in heaven (or plug in your own version of this type of person) is unthinkable to you, or even repulsive ... than you have missed the point of the gospel (c.f. Luke 18:9-14), and possibly in jeopardy of missing heaven all together yourself ... (of course I have no idea if you will see Adolf Hitler in heaven, but the point is what if you see him, or someone "like him"). While God's justice and wrath are certainly real (Rev 14:9-12) and Jesus warned of it (Lk 12:5), the very basis of heaven biblically; an eternity with a righteous and holy God beyond which we cannot even understand, is fundamentally about the fact that none of us deserve to be there ... Hitler, you, me, or anyone else (c.f. Rom 3:23).
So the next time you and I think of heaven, which no eye has seen and no mind has imagined (Isa 64:4; 1 Cor 2:9), we would be wise to think about how we would feel if God surprised us with just how far his grace reaches and how richly it is lavished ... and then remember that we should only, and properly, feel grateful if we were to see someone the likes of Adolf Hitler there along with us.