hell: a real possibility

Today we hear from Gregory the Great in A Year with the Church Fathers. He tells us that Jesus wasn’t kidding when He talked about hell. And that’s true.

You might have read in my previous blogs that I hope for universal salvation. And that’s true too. I hope that no one goes to hell. My fervent desire is that everyone finds themselves in His kingdom at the end of time. But. Jesus made it very clear that hell is real, and anyone not found in the Book of Life will end up there. While I hope and pray that everyone is found written in that Book, there remains the distinct possibility that there will be people whose names are not found there. There even remains the possibility that my name is not found there, and that fact terrifies me.

However, we have faith in Him who saved us, who is saving us, and who will save us. We trust in Him to overcome our fears and to bring us to everlasting life.

We choose heaven or hell each day, in each moment. We choose to know Him better or to move away. We choose to help "His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven", or we choose our own selfishness at the expense of Him and other people.

If we choose that selfishness, there is forgiveness, as long as we are alive, we can keep asking and He will keep forgiving. But there are consequences to our actions. Sometimes our selfishness pushes other people away from Him. Let's pray that our actions bring others closer to Him, rather than push them away.

God, please give us a burning desire to help Your children find You.