When we sit down at a nice steakhouse, and order a delicious filet mignon, the last thing on our minds is where it came from or what it took to go from cow to plate. We want the end result…a delicious steak to enjoy, but we want little to do with uncomfortable speak of all “the rest.”
We want electricity in our house, but not the knowledge of what it took to produce. We want the nice clothes, cars, homes, and delicious food…but skip the conversations on how all of it got to us.
We want to talk about Heaven, but not the “alternative” to Heaven.
We might think, “Yes, there is a Heaven…but let’s just leave it at that…the alternative is uncomfortable and not nice.”
We think, “God is good…He just simply wouldn’t send anyone to that ‘other place.’”
Let me say this… “Oh yes, He would…and no, He does not want too.” God is clear on both!
Truth is…God does love you…every single one of you reading this. AND…God is giving you an invitation to join Him in Heaven forever! (Sign me up for that travel package…see details in THE BIBLE!)
The sad reality is NOT the fact there is an “alternate place” to Heaven. The sad reality is many CHOOSE NOT to accept the invitation given to everyone by God to join Him in Heaven!
Many simply want nothing to do with God. Many would rather put God on the back burner and seek to be left alone to live the life they want. Or some think if there is a God, He just wants me to be happy and live my best life now…doing it “my way”…no further instructions needed.
Many even make jokes about the “alternate place,” trying to minimize or lesson its harshness and reality. You might even take a bite of that juicy steak and say, “that was one hell of a steak.” (Oops, I said the H word…cats out of the bag.)
You know who didn’t avoid the topic of hell…Jesus. You know who didn’t minimize or lesson the reality of hell or speak as if the “alternate place” is one hell of a good time…Jesus.
Jesus’ spoke of hell often. In fact, I found a stat that shows 13 percent of Jesus’ teachings refer to eternal judgment and hell (more than anyone else in the Bible…jeopardy trivia help.) Two-thirds of His parables relate to resurrection and judgment. Don’t believe those stats? Well, all you need to do is open God’s Word and read through the Gospels to find how often Jesus was very blunt when speaking of eternal punishment and hell.
Jesus said, “…be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28b) Who is the “One” …God. God can, and will, punish in eternal hell.
Jesus describes Heaven and hell as eternal. Jesus says, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)
The truth is none of us know the depths of a reality without God. Even the vilest of people still enjoy the blessedness and Grace that God gives all of humanity here on earth. Think about Hitler, (hard to I know, but being a history major, I read more about him than I should have) …he enjoyed sunrises and sunsets. Hitler saw God’s creation all around him.
Hell is void of all this. Hell is void of God’s hand…the same hand that was present at the beginning…the same hand that created the Heavens and the earth.
Yes, it is hard to imagine that people like this could enjoy God’s common Grace. But what is even harder to imagine is hell is a real place without God…void of God’s graceful hand…and many willingly choose that destination.
Is hell unfair…NO! Absolutely not! God is flashing warning signs and red flags everywhere! How do many respond? With jokes and a shrug of the shoulder…a comment like, “that God stuff, that Christian stuff…that Church stuff is just not for me.”
God wants none to perish. God wants all of us to be saved. (John 6:40)
Hell is not an unfair destination…hell is a sadly “fair” landing spot. “Fair” because those who don’t want God in their life…eventually get just that.
But Jesus is still seeking after the lost…Jesus is still reaching out His hand and saying, “come, follow Me…take my hand.” Jesus says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6)
Jesus is telling everyone to listen to the warning signs, adhere to the red flags…hell is real…but it doesn’t have to be added too.
As we begin this new year of 2026…begin it with Jesus.
No matter where you are in life, or how you have lived your past…Jesus wants a relationship with you. Jesus wants nothing more than to indwell your heart.
I would love to speak with anyone seeking a relationship with Jesus.
Blessings,
Pastor Jason
