“Do you think Jesus ate ice-cream?” I asked the server at Baskin Robbins.

“Did they have ice-cream back then?” she replied.

We were on a family outing and ready to spend some gift certificates. My kids anxiously nosed against the glass to see what they wanted while my wife waited at a table for her one scoop sundae (no nuts). I quietly thought about how I could steer the conversation to spiritual matters. I spied the tip jar: “Good Karma” was written in runny black felt tip.

“What if I don’t believe in karma?”

“Then you don’t have to tip,” Vanessa said.

“What if there is no good karma?” She gave us our desserts without answering. “What do you think about the love of God? Ever think about it?”

“Uh, not really.”

“What do you think of God’s love?”

“I think He loves everybody.”

“Indeed He does.” The conversation was getting a little bogged down so I decided to cut to the chase. “Tell me, if you died today would you go to Heaven or Hell?”

She paused for a moment, “Heaven.”

“Why is that? Why would God let you in?”

“I’m a good person; I do good things…”

“You make good sundaes too. Do you believe that the Bible is God’s Word and that there can only be one truth?”

“I believe they all have something to say.”

“Can they all be right? The Bible says that if you sin just once you go to Hell, so based on your answer, you won’t be going to Heaven. No other holy book talks about sin. God is a God of justice and all wrong doing must be dealt with; God will punish us for our sin. But you know what? God loved you so much that He sent Jesus to die for your sin and if you turn away from it and turn to Him, you get off scot-free. That’s how much God loves you. Have you ever heard any of this before, Vanessa?”

“No.”

“You know why I don’t believe in good karma? Because it’s God who blesses.”

I dropped a tip in the jar as I left.