A common question I’ve heard numerous times over the past years is: “If God is so loving, why does He send some people to hell?” That’s a very good question, for which I have a very concise answer: God does not send people to hell. And to take it a step further: He never has sent anyone to hell and He never will.
The best Bible verse we can refer to about this is the most popular verse known around the world, John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God gave us Jesus so we could have everlasting life! In other words, God gave us what we needed to get us out of where our sin was taking us, and to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him. You could say that God gave us the ticket out of hell.
So why do people go to hell? There’s one simple reason: They reject the way God made for us to not go there! Salvation and eternal life are available to all who believe, but there are some who choose not to believe. Looking at it from a practical perspective, we’ve each been given the gift of eternal life. It’s wrapped up and ready for us to open. But if we decide we don’t want the gift, we can reject it and give it back to the Sender. We can only image the pain and anguish God must go through when a person He gave the life of His Son for refuses to accept the gift of eternal life. God is always loving, and He proved that by sending Jesus to die in your place. Now the ball is in your court. Accept Christ or reject Christ: That’s the choice we each must make for ourselves.
If you haven’t yet accepted Jesus into your life, I hope you’ll do so today. In your own words, you can simply ask Christ to come in and be your Lord. And if you have already accepted Him, I pray you’ll take a moment to thank God for giving you the gift that only He could give!
