Heaven or Hell

   “There are only two kinds of people in the end; those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done.’ And those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’”  (C.S. Lewis, “The Great Divorce”).

   Our God is a God of love, of forgiveness and of mercy.  His desire is that all men and women join Him in the happiness and joy of Heaven.  That is what we were created for; to be with Him throughout all time.

   Many people apparently believe that God will condemn us to hell for our sins.  That isn't the way of God; He does not condemn anyone to hell.  We make the choice to either follow His way and join Him in heaven or reject Him and spend eternity in hell.  It’s not God who decides, we do.  We determine how we will live our life; that is the blessing and curse of free will.  Our choices will determine where we spend eternity.

   God’s mercy is endless but we must accept it.  We can’t live our life in opposition to Him and then rely on His mercy to save us from hell.  Throughout our life we are offered the chance to turn to God and allow His will to guide our life.  Somehow people seem to forget that God is not a taskmaster; He will not require our love for Him or force His will upon us.  He is waiting with open arms to welcome us but we must choose to accept His embrace.

   We are about to celebrate the anniversary of our Lord’s birth.  The fact that God would lower Himself to become one of us in everything except sin speaks to His tremendous love for us.  The gifts we give and receive at Christmas are to remind us of the greatest gift of all; the gift of God’s love.

Your love is eternal.

Our salvation is Your desire.

May we gratefully accept Your gift.

May we spend eternity with You.

Amen