A Cry from the Pit

“For I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” — Luke 16: 28

Oh how I used to love singing along with Bon Scott from AC/DC, “Going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there, too . . . I’m on a Highway to Hell!” Bon Scott got his wish on February 19, 1980. He was 33 years old. There are a lot of rock stars that I looked up to and even wanted to be as a teenager who are dead now. A quick search on the Internet says the average age of death for a rock star is 45 years old.

Jesus told of a certain rich man that went to Hell. In that story, the rich man says what I have chosen as my main verse for this week’s WMD. According to Him, Hell is not the big party AC/DC claims it is. It doesn’t sound like any of the rich man’s friends are there partying with him. If they are present at all, having them in Hell with him is of no comfort. It appears that the rich man is now thinking of his family. Hell was of no concern to this man while he was alive and he had a chance to make things right with God. It is of chief concern to him now. He doesn’t want his family to join him in torment. He would do anything to warn them so they could avoid his fate.

Jesus and Bon Scott can’t both be right. Jesus says Hell is a place of torment that is to be avoided at all cost. Bon Scott says Hell is one big party.

Many, many people are living today unconcerned with eternity. I think I know why. Most people look around at the horrors and atrocities going on in our world and it becomes easy to believe that you aren’t that bad of a person. It becomes easy to believe that you are “good enough” to avoid the place called Hell. It also becomes easy to believe that if Hell is your destination, at least it is the destination of countless others.

Somehow, I don’t believe having company in Hell will be of any comfort.

I wonder if on April 15, 1912 as the Titanic was sinking with over 1,000 people still on board if any of them found comfort in the fact that others were with them. On May 31, 2009, the last remaining survivor of the Titanic died. Eventually, we all step into eternity.

I wonder if on September 11, 2001 any of the 3,000 people who were perishing found comfort that others were with them. The most horrifying thing for me to watch is the footage of the people who jumped. Faced with the choice of jumping 1,300 feet to their deaths or burning, some chose to jump.

I realize not everyone believes in a literal Heaven and/or a literal Hell. There are plenty of other theories with little or no consequences to your soul. They are nice to believe because they absolve you of all responsibility as far as the way you choose to live your life. However, if you call yourself a Christian and claim to have put your trust in Jesus Christ, you must believe absolutely everything He taught. He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)

At the age of 16, I chose to leave this burning world, trust Jesus, and jump. Just like I caught my daughter the first time she jumped from the edge of the pool . . . Jesus caught me. I love my Father in Heaven and trust Him completely. There is none like Him.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Later

Adam