Just last night someone poured out her heart to me about heaven and hell. Turns out she is fearful that many beloved family members will not be in heaven. And so she raises the question, "What if I would rather be with my loved ones than in heaven"? A very profound question indeed. But, Jesus spoke directly to this issue. For he said at one point that those who loved husband, wife, brother, sister, son or daughter more than him were not worthy of him. So it is a terrible indictment...but those who would rather be in hell with beloved family members are actually saying I love my family more than I love Jesus. And Jesus I fear will honor their misguided and terrible choice.
A somewhat more crass approach is often expressed by some people who say on this topic in a flippant manner, "You can keep your heaven, I'd much rather be with my friends in hell". This answer too reveals profound ignorance about the actual conditions of hell. This person has to be told that if he knew how the Bible described hell he certainly would not want to go there for even one minute much less an endless eternity. For the scripture describes hell as a place of suffering and endless torment. By no possible stretch of the imagination are we to think that those who suffer God's judgment in this way are going to be "enjoying" some kind of a "girls gone wild" weekend that will last for an eternity. Hell is all about judgment for sin, those who are consigned there will never cease to regret their decision to treat Jesus and their eternal welfare so lightly.
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