Forever.

Friday, January 21, 2011
Forever. We hear that word all the time don’t we? “Oh, I sat in the doctor’s office FOREVER waiting…” No you didn’t. You may have been there a long time, but not forever. “It seems like it’s taking FOREVER for summer to get here…” No, it’s not. Sure it seems like time drags, but it’s not forever. The truth is, forever is a period of time that’s not able to be measured. It’s just forever.
And everyone will live that long – forever. Everyone. God created us in His image, according to Genesis. Part of being created in His image is being created as a forever being. The difference is He never had a beginning (don’t think about that too long…it’ll make your head hurt, trust me…) and we do. He is eternal (no beginning, no end), and we are everlasting (a beginning, but no end). When your life began at your conception, something forever started.
So the question isn’t, “Will you live forever.” The question is, “WHERE will you live forever?” And there are only two options. The Bible tells us of a place called heaven, for those who have been made right with God, and a place called hell, for those who have rejected God’s offer of forgiveness. It’s not complicated at all – just two choices.
Living forever in heaven is infinitely better than we could ever imagine. The Bible gives us a few descriptions of this place called heaven. It mentions streets that are paved using gold (the finest metal on this planet is used as asphalt in the place I’m headed…wow). It tells us about gates made of solid pearl, walls of solid jasper, mansions built for each of us headed there, and a place of no more death, pain, sorrow, disease, or heartache. All that is exciting, and my mind can’t fathom how shiny and brilliant this place will be. But the greatest part of heaven is Who is there.
I have a ton of loved ones waiting for me in heaven. I have two grandmas that I love dearly, a grandpa I’d like to get to know better, some great-grandparents (one of which was my best friend during childhood), cousins, many other family members, and some lifelong heroes of the faith and world history. But the One I can’t wait to see more than any other? Well, that’d be the One that’s responsible for me being there to begin with – Jesus. I cannot wait to see Him in person. I’m not totally sure what I’ll do – hug Him, fall on my face before Him (that’s the most likely guess), or just stand there and sob. Either way, I’ll see Him, and that’s plenty of motivation for me to live in hope!
However, not all will be there. Scripture tells us that there’s another place to spend our forever. It’s a place that many preachers and Christians don’t feel is important to talk about these days. But if we don’t tell people about this place, we are failing them immensely. It’s a place not created for us at all – but rather for the devil and his imps. By rejecting the offer of God to forgive our sins by what Christ did on Calvary, we are making the choice to go there. We don’t go there because we’re worse sinners than anyone else, just as we don’t go to heaven because we’re better than anyone else. Someone will go to hell to live their forever because of a decision to reject Christ. Period.
To the same degree that heaven is beautiful beyond our mind’s comprehension, hell is just as vastly horrendous. Our minds can’t even begin to fathom how terrible a place it is. The Bible says it’s a place of everlasting darkness (pitch black), unquenchable fire, torment, and pain. And the worst part of it? It never ends. While you’ve lived on earth, though you rejected Christ, you still lived with the presence of God in the world around you. Not in hell – there’s the total absence of His presence – a total God vacuum. And no matter how much one begs to leave, it’s forever.
You see, death is the end of our ability to choose to accept or reject Christ. Our lives here are filled with opportunities to choose Him. But when this present life ends, so does our time of choosing. Forever is an awful long time to live in regret.
So today – what will you choose? God loves you, and His desire is for you to come to know Him through His Son Jesus. That’s why He went to the cross – so you wouldn’t have to experience even a moment in this place called hell, let alone forever. Would you cry out to Him today – asking Him to forgive your sin and be your Savior and Lord? Forever is a long, immeasurable amount of time – and I pray you’re ready to spend it all with me in the presence of the King!
(If you’d like more information on beginning a relationship with Christ, feel free to email me at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com.)


That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

This blog is brought to you courtesy of http://fromblake.blogspot.com. Visit today and sign up to become an official follower!
Feel free to write blake anytime at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com