Go Pt. 1
47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
Mark 9:47-48
One of the realities of loving people is that you fear for them. You worry about them. Some of us more than others. But to truly love people is to be concerned for their welfare.
Now, I take it as given that we do all love some people. For some of us it may only be genuinely one or two people. For others it may be many. But what does genuine love look like?
It looks like desiring their best and not the worst for them. But not just desiring. True love is doing whatever is within your means to ensure their best or for them to avoid the worst. You see where I’m going.
Friends. There is nothing worse than an eternity in hell. I know. I’m with you. I find it very hard to conceptualise. It’s a bit like thinking of death. My mind immediately tries to avoid it. But let’s force it to do what it doesn’t want to.
Go on. Do something really hard right now. Imagine hell. Reflect on an eternity of suffering. Link it to what you may have already experienced. Have you felt deep grief before? Imagine feeling that on steroids - forever. Have you felt serious physical pain before? Imagine that - forever. What about deep loneliness or heartache?
Maybe this is a really painful exercise because of someone who has already died. A few people come to mind for me. And all I can do is entrust them to a just God but also to their own decision.
It’s a terrible, terrible reality. Now. If we truly love people… Wouldn’t we do whatever we could to see them avoid hell? I feel this. I need to do more. I need to do more with some of my family and some of my friends. I know what I need to do - I just need to do it.
What do you need to do today?
For Today:
Pray:
“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
Mark 9:47-48
One of the realities of loving people is that you fear for them. You worry about them. Some of us more than others. But to truly love people is to be concerned for their welfare.
Now, I take it as given that we do all love some people. For some of us it may only be genuinely one or two people. For others it may be many. But what does genuine love look like?
It looks like desiring their best and not the worst for them. But not just desiring. True love is doing whatever is within your means to ensure their best or for them to avoid the worst. You see where I’m going.
Friends. There is nothing worse than an eternity in hell. I know. I’m with you. I find it very hard to conceptualise. It’s a bit like thinking of death. My mind immediately tries to avoid it. But let’s force it to do what it doesn’t want to.
Go on. Do something really hard right now. Imagine hell. Reflect on an eternity of suffering. Link it to what you may have already experienced. Have you felt deep grief before? Imagine feeling that on steroids - forever. Have you felt serious physical pain before? Imagine that - forever. What about deep loneliness or heartache?
Maybe this is a really painful exercise because of someone who has already died. A few people come to mind for me. And all I can do is entrust them to a just God but also to their own decision.
It’s a terrible, terrible reality. Now. If we truly love people… Wouldn’t we do whatever we could to see them avoid hell? I feel this. I need to do more. I need to do more with some of my family and some of my friends. I know what I need to do - I just need to do it.
What do you need to do today?
For Today:
- Reflect on hell today.
- Write a list of people you love who need to know Jesus.
- Pray for them and do something that brings them closer to Jesus this week.
Pray:
- Praise the Father that He is good.
- Give thanks for Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others reach out to those who don’t know Jesus.
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