A very common
objection people have today regarding the Christian concept of hell is the very
idea that a supposedly loving God could send people to such a place. At first
glance, this objection seems totally reasonable. After all, if you love
somebody, why would you send them to such an awful place for an eternity? It
just does not compute in our minds, at least at first.
But why does it not
compute? Why is this idea of hell so hard to accept if indeed God is loving? It
is in that very question that we may find the answer. Why is the question
formed so as to call God "loving" and yet say nothing of his other
attributes which must also be considered?
What we usually fail
to grasp at this point is the goodness, righteousness, and justness of God.
Perhaps due to cultural bias, we concoct a view of God that is more convenient
than correct. In this case, it's really convenient for me (and all the wrongs I've
committed) if God loves me but doesn't care so much about "what's right
and what's wrong". What really ends up happening is we make up our own God
to suit our needs, shrinking and devaluing the concepts of love, justice and
goodness (and therefore how just, good, and perfect God really is) while we're
at it. In other words, though at first we focused on the lovingness of God, we
have now reduced even that attribute to some kind of nonchalant, all-inclusive
"whatever's cool, man" divine attitude. The god of our minds is no
longer loving, even though we'd say he is according to our definition.
Let me give an
analogy a friend once used. I've had a few friends of late that are getting
married or engaged. Say I walked up to their lovely fiancés/wives and started
insulting them. If this continued and you saw their partner do nothing about
it, wouldn't that seem a little strange to you? Yeah, probably. And probably
more than "a little" strange. You'd probably question whether or not
the husband/husband-to-be really cares about his fiancé/wife or not, right? And
with good reason. Anyone who truly loves will in turn be against that which is
in opposition to the object of his love. Sin is against all things good, and is
against God and his creation - and that includes you! Sin destroys, and God
wants you to be free from sin.
So God, in being
loving and good, will hate that which is evil and will NOT be accepting of sin.
Indeed, if he is loving, God cannot be accepting of sin. And so there is a
hell. A place that exists because God is
loving. He loves good, can't stand evil, and will deal with it accordingly. He
also loves you, and wants you to turn away from sin because sin is destroying
you! In choosing to reject God, you are rejecting the source of life… So life
will slowly be sucked out of you until there is nothing left, and you are in
hell, devoid of any divine presence and blessing (like you wanted, but maybe
didn't expect).
Make no mistake: God
loves all people. But that doesn't mean he will sacrifice justice and goodness
and "be OK" with our sinfulness. So too, we must not be OK with sin.
If you have read my past post on hell (please
do), you know that hell is a place for sinners (all people) who do not repent
of sin and receive the forgiveness that God provides through Jesus Christ's
life, death and resurrection (not all people). Another way of putting that:
people who don't want to be forgiven so that they can enter into a relationship
with the God who loves them despite their sin get exactly what they want -
isolation and separation from God in hell.
Keep in mind too
that this forgiveness is not earned, nor can it be faked into. God knows the
heart, and he doesn't screw up - those who get hell get what they want. And
those who are broken by the realization that they can't do anything to fix
themselves up before God believe and are saved.
Again heavy truths,
but I hope I'm handling them appropriately. Please, any feedback, questions or
anything is gladly welcome! So hit me up.
Til next time, keep
thinking!
Corey
