For many years, one of my many objections to Christianity was the subject of Hell.  When approached by Christians, I would often tell them, “Hey, I never asked to be born, why should my only choices be Heaven or Hell?” An eternity of suffering seemed a harsh consequence in exchange for a relatively short
existence here on earth.   I wanted door number three, a third option.  Not that I hated God or anything like that, but like many, I just wanted to do my own thing and live how I wanted to live. I didn’t feel like I was hurting anyone or bothering anybody, so why should I be made to suffer? I just wanted a life I thought afforded me the greatest amount of freedom. 

How about you?  Have you every responded to a Christian’s question of where you plan on spending your eternity with, “I’ll be partying in hell, because that’s where all of my friends will be!”

While the idea of some endless adventure on a tropical paradise doing my own thing, responsible to no one may initially sound good, or you partying with all of your likewise wild and free friends in some dressed up version of hell may make for a good off the cuff comeback to some random Christians question, both responses fail to critically consider what may be a very rude and unfortunate awakening
in the afterlife.  Why?

Now like you, I do not know the specifics of what either heaven or hell will be like beyond what the bible speaks of. I cannot claim some near death experience, nor have I had some mountain top revelation in a sweat lodge under the close mentorship of a wise and aged religious guru.  However, I do have a curious mind and an intense desire to understand this most serious question that once troubled my mind.  The magnitude of which requires more than a dismissive response which could lead to grave (pardon the pun) consequences.

Thus, with that in mind, I would ask you to consider the following scenario.  While it is certainly not a
perfect analogy, I believe it does get to the heart of the issue. 

Suppose you are a loving parent of four children, of which one is an adult living in your basement and the other three are still young and in school.  How would you manage your home?  Would there be rules to follow, or would it be a house with unlimited freedom?

Would the rules for your adult child be different than the rules for the younger ones?  Of course they would, so I’m sure the answer to that is probably yes, but there would still be an expectation that the adult child would honor and respect the general house rules and values of the home.

Given that understanding, suppose that adult child living in your home doesn’t respect your guidelines for living there and is on a dangerous or self-destructive path? What do you do? Do you throw them out, or do you allow them to stay? And if you do throw them out, do you pay for them to do their own thing in another home or apartment?

I suspect if you are the loving parent you say you are, you are not going to encourage, or contribute to your child’s self-destructive behaviors. Nor are you going to allow them to continue such a path in your home when it is disruptive to the peace and tranquility of the other family members living there.

We know in our hearts that children without boundaries and guidelines are prone to becoming spoiled and ill-mannered or “spoiled rotten” as we sometimes say, and yet we fail to recognize the need for boundaries in our own life.

We not only want God to stay out of our lives and let us do what we want while we are here, but we also want him to continue to condone our reckless behavior even though it doesn’t conform to his standards.  Then, when our life of disregard and disrespect is done, we either want him to let us come
back and live with Him in comfort, or more likely want Him to continue to leave us alone while providing for our comfort in some other alternate eternity.  We somehow expect God to set us up in our own tailor-made eternity when we have neither acknowledged him nor respected Him when we lived in the world in which he specifically created for us. 

So in reality, if you really think about it, we are already living in that 3rd option as we prepare for the afterlife.  God has frontloaded our version of allowing us to do our own thing right here and right now.  He has provided this earth as a training ground, or testing facility if you prefer, giving us free will to decide how we want to spend our eternity.    For those who submit to his authority and accept his offer for salvation, he offers eternal life, peace and happiness in heaven (His house).  For those who do not want to submit to his authority and accept his offer for salvation, he has established another location, hell. 

Hell is a place where God simply will not be present or paying the bills to keep the lights on for us to live however we want.

The only possible 3rd option really, is here…, right now, where we both see and feel the effects of the struggle between good and evil.  This present situation is a place where God is currently allowing us to experience the beauty of this world he has created, while at the same time allowing us to see the depth of evil man is capable of in a life without God.  What we choose to do with God’s offer determines our final eternal address.

While Hell is, according to scripture, a literal place of punishment, it is not a place God desires to send people.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 

In fact, Jesus made it clear that hell wasn’t even meant for mankind, but for Satan and his angels.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”   Matthew 25:41

Unfortunately, there will be plenty of people there, whom we as humans might personally feel fit the description of good, but we are not privy to the same information God is because we are not God.  Again, it is God’s House, and he has given us a clear path to getting there, and that path goes through Jesus
Christ.

Your approval or disapproval is irrelevant, we cannot change the reality of the situation regardless of what we think or feel on the subject; however, your choice is still the same.  Even rebelliously not choosing, as I once did because I didn’t like the options is inherently still a choice.

Rather than ask why a loving God would allow so much pain and suffering in this world, or why would a loving God send us to hell, perhaps we should ask an entirely different set of questions?

Perhaps as we critically think this through, we should ask:  How long would it take billions of disobedient children to turn an eternal heaven into an eternal hell if God allowed everyone to come and do their own thing, whatever your thing is?  If this world is what it looks like when everyone
is making up their own rules, then why would heaven be any different if He let everyone in? If you recall, God already gave us free will to decide when he gave us the Garden of Eden in the first place and look what happened in that paradise and throughout the ages?

If people reject God’s influence in this present world, what possible leverage would God have on us in the next, unless he completely remade us at death to be more like our obedient dogs?  But then, wouldn’t we just be exchanging our free will for comfort and a mind of reduced capacity?

We do have a choice and it’s here while living in this 3rd option, but know this up front, your choice will determine your eternal destiny whether you approve or not.  It’s His house.   God’s standard is not based upon what we consider good or bad behavior, but our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior.  He alone is the gateway to Heaven.

As clearly spoken in the book of John, 14th Chapter, verse 6,  – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

And of course , we’re probably allfamiliar with John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. “

But are you familiar with the very next verse?  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world through him.”

The path has been set, the choice is yours.