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Well, as you read at the beginning of Katie's post on Monday, this topic was indeed something that I pushed for. So, if you are one of those who either gets nervous in talking about eternity or just otherwise doesn't like to do it because we don't have any proof, I am guilty as charged for bringing up this subject. To be honest, I personally feel that we don't talk about it enough in the Church. Isn't that a problem? The rest of the world doesn't shy away from it, so why should we? Talking about heaven and hell can be a great way to engage those who don't have much interest in coming to church or reading the Bible. While many people are turned off by Christianity or any type of organized religion, EVERYONE is concerned about the afterlife in some way. Because it is a great mystery, people are drawn to books, movies, and anything else that lends an opinion or perspective on what happens when we die. When I was in seminary, we learned that the question of what happens when we die was even one of the 7 main questions that help define every worldview. So it's a pretty big deal!

To try to present an understanding of hell, I'm going to take you to a passage of Scripture that seems to have nothing to do with it. Like many concepts that are discussed in Scripture, we have to look at the big picture rather than just one or two select passages. In the Book of Job, the title character is a man that we could all strive to emulate. "This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1b). Job was extremely wealthy, but he never allowed it to distract him from following God's commands. He went so far as to regularly sacrifice burnt offerings just to cover the possibility that one of his children had sinned (v. 5). But then the rest of Chapters 1 and 2 explain a conversation going on between God and Satan where Satan wants permission to make Job suffer a little bit to prove that he will renounce his faith in God. First of all, let me repeat that: Satan needs God's PERMISSION to cause us to suffer. The concept of why God allows suffering and our perseverance in the midst of trials is an entirely separate issue. Today, just take time to think about how God protects us from Satan's schemes. The next time you think your rough circumstances in life are the attacks of Satan, remember that Satan doesn't just want you to have a bad day. He wants to destroy your life. "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8b). If Satan could have his way and sin could do what it wants to us, there would never be hope and there would never be a bright day. Our lives would be constant turmoil and suffering. Remember that the reason why we always have hope in this lifetime is because God is in control of how much suffering we receive and how far Satan can take his schemes. We wake up every day as targets for Satan to devour, but God protects us and says, "This is your limit, Satan".

Now I bring all that up to challenge you to think about what life would be like without God. Some of you are living it right now and may even think it isn't so bad. But if that describes you, I would caution you that even if you haven't accepted God's presence in your life, He still loves you and is protecting you, desiring that you will not perish (2 Peter 3:9). As long as you are still breathing in this life, there is hope that you will not be without God forever even if you are currently opting to live without Him. Job lost his family, his wealth, and even his good health. And it was all approved by God, who in His sovereignty knew that Job could persevere. Many of us today would think it can't get much worse than it did for Job or maybe even has for some of you. But I can promise you that it can and will get much worse for anyone who chooses life without God.

Imagine going through what Job did without the hope that there is a loving God who watches over the affairs of His people. Friends, I can't think of a better way to describe hell. The Bible gives some very colorful descriptions of the conditions of hell, including "weeping and gnashing of teeth", "a lake of burning sulfur", and "torment forever and ever". Unfortunately, we are often drawn to such descriptions and try to imagine the physical nature of the place. But I believe that gets our focus off of what is important to know about it. The most important thing to know about hell is that God is not present there. Matthew 8:12 and Revelation 22:15 describe hell as a place that is "outside" the place that was just previously described, which was the kingdom of heaven in both passages. So in the Bible, there is a very clear separation between the place that God is and the place that God is not.

The physical descriptions of hell do not scare me even a fraction as much as the thought of being somewhere that has no hope. I have gone through trials in my life as I'm sure all of you have, and some had me wondering if I could recover. But the one thing that never changed was the fact that God's presence was still there. Even if I felt He was abandoning me, He never truly was. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), regardless of the trials brought on by the previous day. Again, that is not possible in a place where God does not exist! Look at all the pain and suffering in the world around you and you might even think to quip, "This world is going to hell in a hand basket". But even with everything that we see, God is still here and it's hard to even imagine how bad it would get if He wasn't. It would be all the pain and suffering we see now multiplied exponentially, plus no God to set a limit that evil cannot cross.

We as a human race are sometimes so ignorant of the reality of life without God. Ever since Adam and Eve were deceived in the garden, we have been tricked into thinking our lives would be better if we go our own way and don't have to submit to a God who loves us and knows what is best for us. Here's the thing about the afterlife, and I know I'm going to really irritate those of you who believe in predestination and unconditional election, but this is my opinion based on the way I understand God as loving: He will give us what we want. I believe God loves us so much that He is willing to let us be separate from Him for all of eternity if that is what we defiantly choose. One of my best friends once said that "hell is God's greatest act of love". If you live your life in such a way that invites God's presence into it, you can enjoy that for all of eternity. But if you choose to live this life in such a way that you are asking God to leave you alone, then He will grant that wish for all of eternity and you won't know what you've gotten yourself into until it is too late. And God doesn't grant that wish to spite us, He does it because He loves us enough to let us reject Him if we so desire. For this reason, I don't like to say that God sends people to hell. He has the power to do so, but 2 Peter 3:9 is clear that He doesn't want anyone to perish. Hell is something human beings can choose for the afterlife by the way they live in this lifetime. So, let me challenge and urge all of you. The next time you are thinking about whether you want to live this life God has given you in submission to Him or opposition to Him, understand that you can't have it one way and then choose the opposite for all eternity. Be very mindful of your choices today, because with them you choose what you want forever. So, what's it going to be for you - life and eternity with God, or life and eternity without Him? There's no bigger question.