I have been listening to David Jeremiah’s teachings on Heaven and reading Francis Chan’s Erasing Hell. I am much more comfortable listening to talk about heaven than I am reading about hell. I guess that puts me in the same category as most Christians. Roughly 9 in 10 Americans believe in God. At the same time, only 7 in 10 profess belief in the Devil and in hell. That’s a bad case of biblical cherry picking. Obviously it’s much more pleasant to consider there’s a heaven than it is to contemplate hell. But scripture teaches the reality of both.
It’s interesting that studies show that the knowledge of hell is more likely to keep us on the straight and narrow, than are just thoughts of clouds and angels. Someone actually did a study which revealed that people that believe in hell are less likely to commit crimes than those who believe only in heaven. Check it out if you think you can follow a psychological study. I have to wonder about someone who would decide to do such a study.
Of course God is way ahead of psychologists and sociologists. He filled scripture with references to both heaven and hell. He also slips into our world glimpses of both. There are plenty of hints in our world that there is a heaven. We are surrounded by reflections of the wonder of God and the ultimate home of those who follow him.
But there is also plenty to remind us of the existence of darkness as well. It doesn’t take much looking around to see that there is evil and darkness in the world, just reflections of the dark in the spiritual realm.
What keeps us in any relationship, especially when it’s tested, is not only the knowledge of the good times in the future with that person but the knowledge of what our world would be like without him or her. All this about heaven and hell is like that. As Christians we have God in our lives, not in the full complete way that we will have Him in Heaven. The thought of that ultimate relationship keeps us moving forward, but so does the thought of what life without Him would be like. Heaven and Hell – Good and Bad. It keeps us on the path we need to follow.
Keep walking straight ahead and be blessed.
Nick
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