No Tragedy Like an Eternal Tragedy
It seems to me that the life experience is not life, unless it contains a fair share amount of drama. Throughout our lives, all of us have to learn how to cope with it. But, when the drama scale turns tragic, the impact of it can not just be upsetting, it can be life changing, and in some cases, fatal. Yet, for most that experience tragedy, life goes on as methods of coping are first tested, then relied on. One doesn’t “get over it,” so much as one learns to live with it or live, in-spite of it. I think this is because in most of the circumstances we label as tragic, there is a glimmer of hope somewhere in our lives. Perhaps we have the love and support showed by loved ones and friends. Maybe some sort of “good” comes out of the tragedy, or a new awakening of taking pleasure in the simple things of life.
Out of all the possible tragedies that one could experience, there is one tragedy that is unequaled; the tragedy of being eternally separated from your Creator. As portrayed in the Bible, all “good” things come from God. In Exodus 33:18-19, Moses asks God to “show me Your glory,” and God answers saying: “I will make all My goodness pass before you.” So, to God, His glory is His goodness. With that in mind, it is reasonable to consider that in a place totally separated from God, a person would also be separated from anything “good,” even including light, since God had declared light, “good” (Genesis 1:4). And, unlike drama softened by hope, in this eternal destination, there would be no hope. Jesus described the place in the most awful of terms, “… a furnace of fire” where “there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:41-42). Scripture says that it is not God’s desire that anyone should end up this way (2 Peter 3:9), but, one must accept God’s gracious offer.
So, what is the take-a-way from this rather morose subject? The enormity of the consequences of being wrong on the issue of the Bible’s message being true or not, should produce a real desire to research for your own self-interests, and not to rely on religious professionals, science, or even me, to do your thinking and make your eternal choice for you. For your own eternal well-being, read the Gospel of John with an open heart and decide for yourself whether or not Jesus was who He claimed to be. Simply ask God to illuminate for you what truths He wants you to learn from the scriptures, and He will. God has promised that if a person seeks Him with a “whole heart,” they will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). Do it today, because none of us really knows what tomorrow holds or what is coming our way.