What’s an eternity anyways?
October 22, 2009
What? 2 weeks in a row?!?!?! That’s right. Last night I talked about people who take all of their anger and aggression and they bottle it up until the moment it completely explodes. I have been experiencing this feeling, only it hasn’t been with anger or aggression. If you know me, then you know my mind often wanders, and this is because I seriously have like dozens of thoughts racing through my mind at the same time. Am I the only one that experiences this? Sometimes I feel like I have the absolute hardest time settling down and actually sticking with one thought or one conversation. Who knows, perhaps I should be taking some kind of medication. Anyways, it helps me tremendously to be able to write these thoughts down and hopefully you find it helpful to read it.
I have experienced two things this past week that have coincided with each other in a way, and it has really got me thinking. First off, at our yard sale a couple weeks ago, I bought a book entitled 23 Minutes in Hell (Thanks Michelle!) by Bill Wiese. The topic of Hell has always intrigued me a bit, and I had heard of this man a long time ago, so I figured I would pick it up. To give you a little background, he was a man who considered himself a Christian. He went to church, had a lot of knowledge of the Bible and he was an overall “decent” guy. He went to bed one night in November, and without any explanation was thrown out of his bed and into Hell. I would strongly recommend anyone reading this, because it doesn’t mean as much hearing it from me. He backs his story up with scripture as well as other people who have experienced the same horrific event. The book left me with a better sense as to what Hell is about and left me with an even greater feeling that I do not want to end up there.
Last Sunday night, I went and saw a movie called Paranormal Activity. Chances are, if you haven’t seen it you are beginning to hear things about it. Again, I don’t want to give away much because it is a pretty insane movie. What I will tell you is that it is about a couple who is being haunted by a demonic presence. My good friend Toby saw it the night before and was seriously afraid of the dark for a couple days. I am not sure how many of you guys like scary movies, but I know for me, the one thing that keeps me from going crazy and curling up into a little ball on the ground is the fact that it’s just a movie. Yeah, there are serial killers, crazy people who do crazy stuff, but for the most part, these plots and stuff are nothing but fiction.
I guess the major parallel between these two things is that whole idea of demons and Hell. Everyone who has any knowledge in God and the Bible know that those who choose to reject Him will spend an eternity in Hell. We all have our own little images of Hell, whether it is hot, dark, or scary. I think what we end up losing, is the severity of this choice that we make. We make jokes about going to Hell, but I don’t think we really understand what it all means. Hell is a place of horrifying torment and a place that we can never escape. I want you to spend a moment and think of your biggest fear. Something that absolutely terrifies you. Then I want you to take that and multiply it by 1,000,000 because that is essentially what Hell is. Hell is full of demons (like the movie) and void of all peace, happiness, and worst of all, God. We live our lives with the hope that things will eventually get better. We know that no matter how crappy things are, there is hope that God will make things better. Hell has nothing like that. Hell is a place for hopelessness and hatred. I pray today that everyone who reads this understands that the choices we make today are HUGE! I don’t want you to come to know Jesus because of the fear of going to Hell, but I want you to become aware of how horrible that place is. I want you guys to truly get to know Jesus because despite our mistakes and failures, He is willing to do anything to spare us of an eternity there. This is why I say the love He has for us is unlike anything we can imagine. Can you imagine being angry at someone and having the opportunity to punish them by sending to Hell? Most of us would jump at that opportunity, yet no matter how much we hurt or anger God, He still offers us grace and a chance to spend eternity with Him. I hope that you all get a moment to sit and really think about all of these words. Grasp the concept of Heaven and Hell and grasp concept of a God who loves us enough to allow us to make the choice. I love all of you guys and I hope you are able to have peace in the fact that you have given your life to Jesus. If you haven’t ever prayed that prayer and if you are really unsure if you are going to Heaven or not, please go to the “Need Jesus?” tab at our website (www.parkwayyouth.com) and get that fresh start today!
