Theologians like to poke-and-prod at things. Often they over-complicate things. Sometimes they offer a nugget that resonates.
One of those concepts that resonated with me is an expansion on what Hell is like.
Some backstory
Quicksilver, my two-year-old granddaughter was overly tired due to three hours at the zoo. It was past her normal nap-time. She was angry about being strapped into her car-seat. She melted down. She was inconsolable. She wanted to taken out of her car-seat and be held and cuddled.
Southern Belle concentrated on driving. I tried to distract the wee-tot as she sobbed and kicked and thrashed in her seat. Kiddy books. Singing. Letting her look at pictures of puppies on my smartphone...
Quicksilver was inconsolable. She was accepting no substitutes.
Back to the theologians...
The theologians' expansion is that Hell is complete separation from God. Inside of each one of us, even the most grizzled and calloused, is a two-year-old who needs to be held and cuddled. Hell is the natural endpoint of our resistance to God. We don't want Him to be a part of our life. Fine. Have it your way.
But we don't REALLY want Him out of our life. We want him to be like AAA Roadside Assistance in the Contact List of our smartphone. "Hey, Big Dude, I am in a bit of a jam. How soon can you come pull my bacon out of the fire?"
Many of us fall into the habit of treating God like an ugly side-chick who is our Plan G, the one we call when there is NOBODY else available and when we are feeling needy.
Hell is when Plan G does not return your frantic phone-call. You are the sobbing, willful two-year-old who suddenly realizes that you are powerless and separated from the One you need. In Quicksilver's case, seemingly for eternity. In actual Hell, for eternity.
Luke 16 portrays the rich man in Hell as being alone. Solitude is one thing. Being alone and having no prospect of any other human interaction (who, after all were created in God's image), ever, is pretty scary.
But I don't know if being packed into Hell (which I imagine is getting crowded) with a braggillion other screaming two-year-olds is any better. Speaking from recent experience.
Fred in Texas. That was a mental and spiritual meal. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Fred. Such a clear picture.
ReplyDeleteAnd so few see where we have come to and where this is going.---ken
ReplyDeleteProfound thoughts ERJ, and something that has been on my mind of late as well. Somewhere along the way the Church allowed the culture to define Hell in a certain way and then re-define it into a comedy routine.
ReplyDeleteWe are so the recipients of common grace we cannot imagine what it would be like without it.
During my daily morning prayer, i ask God to give me the wisdom to shut up and LISTEN on what I have to do to fulfill his Will. I ask forgiveness for my sins and ask for patience on His part in dealing with me. In short - I admit my faults and weaknesses and thank him for the good and the bad given me.
ReplyDeleteIt is a blessing that Christ gives us a small peek through the keyhole of eternal suffering. The rich man knows where he is. He is in a place of torment and damnation. He also knows there is no escape. Curiously, there is no argument from him as to his guilt. He requests help from Abraham, but none is forthcoming. He also asks for a warning to be sent to his brothers, but is told the warning already exists. We should all remember Dante’s sign over the portal of hell. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” There will be no appeal. At this point the soul will have no recourse but to an eternity of darkness and separation from a holy God. I know this sounds severe, but it is meant to drag you into the world of truth and consequences. As long as you are alive, there is a way out. My prayer is that you wisely (and quickly) consider the alternative.
ReplyDelete? I find 2 places in the Bible it speaks of the second death. Many places of the second birth. Is the second death the destroyed soul for ever? The lake of fire metafore so to speak. Woody
ReplyDelete