My friend Kathryn (among other people, I'm sure) says that she's never seen anyone come to Christ because they were threatened by the idea of hell.
Once I thought about it, I realized that I've never witnessed that either. I know I certainly didn't choose Jesus because I was afraid of going to hell if I didn't. Besides, in my mind, it doesn't make sense that we find victory in someone's choice if all they're really choosing is not to be tortured for eternity. That's not a choice, that's coercion. And what does coercion say about your ability to reason? It says that you'd rather be happy than sad, you'd rather experience joy over pain, you'd rather be human.
Doesn't it make more sense to choose based on what you think is good and right?
The brain of a 3 year old works like this: if you have two choices and one is "right" and the other will get you in trouble, you choose the one that doesn't get you in trouble. Not because the choice was "right," but simply to avoid consequence.
Do I really want to live a life knowing I made the most important choice of it just because I wanted to avoid a negative consequence?
Probably not.
There'll be more on this topic, to be sure.
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2 comments:
You're going to love that book on Hell I gave you. It speaks specifically to that point and beyond.
well I must have the mind of a 3 year old. That was how I led my christian life before getting involved with Elevation. I didnt want to die and go to hell forever. The only problem with that is that it severely stumped any growth with God, my relationship was not built on love it was survival, so whenever I screwed up I felt guilty and felt bad for myself. I now know better. Dude, I wrote a whole blog on this like a week ago. anyway I wont be at church this sunday, I have air force stuff to do...blah. take care.
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