And God loves you enough to grant you the desires of your heart.
This is undoubtedly an example of “be careful what you wish for,” though not everyone heeds such wise warnings.
Preferring To Be Without God
Some people spend their whole lives running from God, so the last thing they want is to spend eternity with Him. God gives each of us a choice, and true to His nature, He honors that choice.
Hell Is Your Choice Not God's
Hell isn’t a place meant to torture bad people; it’s a place created for those who prefer to be separated from God. God doesn’t send people to Hell; people are there by choice. God loves you, and He doesn’t want this for you or anyone. God wants to be with you, commune with you, spend time together, and bring you into Heaven as part of the family.
Separation From God
What many don't realize is that all good things come from God. So every good reward and every amount of love, joy, peace, happiness, and kindness you've ever encountered is because of God.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." - James 1:17
When we remove God and all of His characteristics, gifts, and blessings, we're left with the opposite things - hatred, grief, chaos, selfishness, division, war, and so much more. Without God, we are without hope.
“remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." - Ephesians 2:12
To be separated from God is to be separated from all good things. While on earth, even those who chose to separate themselves from God still benefit from those around them and from living in God’s creation here on earth. But after death, for those who choose this, their separation from God is complete. God honors their heart’s desires and gives them a location (Hell) where all of God and His goodness, gifts, and blessings are removed.
Hell is a place of separation - not only from God but all the blessings that radiate from Him. This leaves Hell as a place of hopelessness, torment, and suffering without comfort. We see a forewarning and glimpse of this in the book of Luke.
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor everyday. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’
And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment. But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” - Luke 16:19-31
This passage gives us a glimpse of the agony and overwhelming hopelessness when someone is completely separated from God. As in the times of Moses and the Prophets, there are always people on earth sharing the blessed message of hope in Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen. Luke also alludes to the prophecy of Jesus and that He’ll be killed and raised from the dead. While some will believe, there will be many who “will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.”
Reunited With God
God's plan has always been to have us together with Him.
We were created to commune with God in the garden of Eden. God doesn’t make backup plans if things don’t work out; He knows exactly what will happen and finds a way to make the original plan work (no matter how bad humans keep messing it up). Thankfully, God gives us chance after chance - He sends us friends, loved ones, co-workers, or strangers to share His message of love with us. And He inspired the beautifully written, detailed love letter (we know as the Bible) specifically for you to tell you His plan and how much He loves you!
After humans sinned, in the garden of Eden, that created separation between God and man. As sinners, we could no longer be in His perfect presence, so God sent His son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins and be raised back to life as our eternal Savior. This free gift is available to all humans and is God’s plan to reunite us to be able to commune in His presence once again.
While we're on Earth, when we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, who will never leave us. This is one way we get to communion with God while we're here. And after our death when we'll get to see Him face-to-face.
Being Good Has Nothing To Do With Salvation
God tells us that no amount of good works can ever save your soul or climb the ladder to Heaven.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
“But if it's by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." - Romans 11:6
Getting to Heaven isn't about you, your good deeds, or working your way there. It's about the sacrifice that Jesus already made for you. The only way to Heaven is through humbly accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me." - John 14:6
This invitation of love, that's made possible by giving His life to pay for our sins, is an open and free invitation so we can spend eternity in the presence of God.
You Heart's Desire
We can't serve two masters - God and the ways of the world. We either accept God's free gift of salvation or we don't. There's no gray area here. God will grant each of us the desires of our heart - to be with Him as our personal Savior, or to be separated from Him for eternity. Thankfully, the choice is up to you!
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other, You can't serve God and wealth." - Matthew 6:24
“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21
Come To Know Christ
Want to know more? Fantastic! Check out my step-by-step blog post about how to accept Christ as your personal Savior, Know God, Know Peace. I look forward to seeing you in Heaven!
#NotEveryoneWantsToGoToHeaven #Hell #specialPlaceInHell #separationfromGod #GodsFamilyReunion #ChildOfTheKing #BornToBeWithGod #EternalHome
I tell you these things, not to convince you, but to spark curiosity and encourage you to dig deep and explore these issues for yourself.
As always, don't take my word for it.
Examine the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are true.
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the word with eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."
- Acts 17:11
Written by Lori Grimmett, a student of Biblical studies for more than 40 years,
and of Biblical theology and eschatology for more than 25 years.