The other place - Hope 103.2

The other place

By David ReayThursday 6 Mar 2014LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes

Transcript:

Read John 3:17-18

God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger,telling the world how bad it was. He came to help,to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (THE MESSAGE)

Some people are troubled by the thought that a loving God sends people to hell (however we define or imagine such a place). Does this God randomly choose whom he will have in heaven and who goes to hell?

Gladly,it seems that we can’t level this accusation against God. This God,as our text makes clear,sent Jesus to bring people to him. God wants all to be saved. God wants heaven full. God is not somehow biased towards condemnation,only choosing to save people grudgingly. He longs for all to come to him and Jesus proves it.

But he doesn’t force friendship on us. We can choose to reject it. Indeed,someone who wants nothing to do with God would find heaven hellish. C. S. Lewis says the doors of hell are locked on the inside: those in hell are rebels to the end. God has done all he can to win people to himself,he will leave no stone unturned,taking every opportunity to prompt each and every human being to respond to him.

Yet some will choose to turn their back on him. God honours their choice. God invites all to heaven,but the invitation can be rejected. That is not God’s choice,but our own.

Blessings
David Reay