Conversation with a modern atheist:

“If you were very rich, would you pay for a therapy that would make you live forever?”

“Absolutely!”

“What if it were free?”

“No, then I’d rather die.”

The question is not if you want to go to heaven after you die. The question is if you want to go now.

Even if Jesus only imagined that He was saving you when allowing Himself to be tortured and executed, He deserves your respect. You could call Him a fool for thinking that His suffering would unlock your happiness. But doing so He loved you more than anyone ever has or ever will.