A Real "Hotspot"
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matt. 10:28
Ever been to Albuquerque? Growing up, I'd never been further west than Memphis, so when Bugs Bunny talked about making that "left toin at Albukoikee", I hardly thought of it as a real place. It was more like the "Land of Far, Far Away" in some fairy tale. When I finally went through it as an adult, it kept that fairy tale quality for me because of the stark, mountainous terrain (very different than rural Mississippi) and because we went through it so fast.
Fast forward to my kids. Sometimes, it was better they not know where we were going until we got there (dentist, doctor, playground, MickeyD's, etc.). We'd get in the car, and they'd always ask, "Where are we going, Daddy?" "Albuquerque" "No, we're not! Where are we really going?" I always had big fun with this, and would carry on with it until they started checking the landmarks and figuring it out themselves. Just recently, my daughter told me that she had never believed it was a real place herself, until she saw it on a map in school.
And I'm afraid that's the way a lot of people think about Hell. They've heard about it so many times without seeing it that they begin to think it's make-believe.
They have a hard time reconciling "God is Love" with "God is the Righteous Judge", and so they try to explain away the Scriptures that refer to Hell. So why should you and I believe in Hell?
Because Jesus believed in it.
He spoke about it like it was a real place, and He warned His followers about it, but the most compelling evidence is not in what He said, but in what He did. If there is no Hell, and no one is at risk, then the Crucifixion was the most horrible and pointless event in history. But Jesus was not a madman, nor was He a fool. He went through the agony of the Cross because He knew it had to be done, because He knew what was waiting those who came to Final Judgment. If there had been any other way, He would have found it before Gethsemane. Don't be fooled by clever words and phrases - or even best selling books by mega-church pastors. There are consequences for what we believe - and what we refuse to believe!
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matt. 7:13
