Heaven and Hell

Over the last few months in our teen class, we have tried to refresh our understanding about some basic ideas that shape our Christian faith. Sometimes, what we have discovered has not looked much different than what we knew before. Other times, we have been introduced to new ways of looking at things.

This week, we are considering the ideas of Heaven and Hell. This is fundamentally a study of the Eschaton, the end times. (I just wanted to use a big fancy word in this article…lol)

What will happen when the world as we know it comes to an end? Even within Christian circles, there are a variety of opinions about how to answer that question. Most people can back up their particular understanding with Scriptures and honest study.

But, here’s the thing. In my opinion, your view on the ideas of Heaven and Hell isn’t, well, a Heaven or Hell issue. What I mean by that is that I don’t believe your standing with God will be determined by whether or not you have the right theology about the end times.

Regardless of what you believe regarding Heaven and Hell, the thing we need to remember is that there will be an end times, and we should live our lives in anticipation and preparation for that day. If all we do is sit back, think we’re fine, and wait for Jesus to return, we have missed the point. The same is true if we invest our time in judging others who we don’t think will make it.

What we need to do is both look forward to the future and also bring the future into today. There is a day when all things will be made new and God will dwell with his people for all of eternity. In the meantime, regardless of what we think that future time will look like, we need to live lives today that begin to usher that future reality into the present world.

While the world around us is dying, we should be focusing on what brings life.

While the world around us is suffering, we should be focusing on what brings comfort.

While the world around us is filled with hate, we should be focusing on how we can love.

While the world around us is consumed with the temporary, we should be focusing on that which is eternal.

Regardless of what you believe about the last days, it doesn’t take us long to see that Hell is very much present in our current world in a variety of ways. Rather than simply focusing on what is in our future, maybe we should focus a little more on making Heaven more present in our world today.

 

shine!
Jason