Question Series: “If God Is Love, How Can You Justify Eternal Torture in a Lake of Fire?”
The question is honest: If God is love, how do you explain hell?
The answer is simple: Because people reject God, and therefore reject love.
In the beginning, God created humanity in His image and likeness. Because God has a mind and a will, each of us has a mind and a will. That means we get to choose.
God bends over backwards doing everything possible to draw us to Him. He created Paradise for us to enjoy. Even after we lost it, He continues to fill the earth with good things because He loves us: every bit of good food, every sunset and sunrise, every trace of love you’ve ever felt, every mote of happiness, satisfaction, peace, joy, pleasure, comfort, significance, success, friendship, kindness, and mercy come from His hand. Each one is a gift from a Father who dearly loves His children.
Jesus went to the Cross to open the doors of Heaven wide, so that everyone who wants to enter can do so. All we have to do is bow the knee to Christ as King, surrendering the rule of our lives to Him, and we become citizens of His Kingdom for time without end.
God’s desire is pure and powerful: He wants all of His children to come home.
But some children refuse. They choose instead to reject God.
When they do, they reject everything that comes from God: love, life, happiness, peace, comfort, and everything else ever enjoyed.
By choosing to reject God, they reject everything good, and end up with an existence filled only with evil. Or as we call it, Hell.
The next time you enjoy something good in your life, think about where it came from. Think of the God who loves you. Think of the God who gave His life on the Cross to give you an eternity of good, longing for you to enjoy it together with Him.
Think of this Father — and come home to Him.
He longs for you with more love, passion, kindness, joy, and compassion than you have ever known was possible.
