If a man receives a $2 fine for a crime, you can be sure that the crime he committed was trivial. However, if you hear of a criminal getting multiple life-sentences without parole, you can surmise that the crime he committed was very serious. The penalty given, gives us understanding of the nature of the crime.
The penalty for sin is death and damnation--life without parole. The sentence is eternal. This is harsh by any human standard, however, God’s standard is infinitely higher than ours. He is perfect and holy, and the best of us is desperately wicked in His sight. If we sinned a mere ten times a day through lustful thoughts, greed, ingratitude, bad actions, etc.,--over a 70 year life that comes to 255,500 sins that God must punish.
Still, eternal damnation seems incredibly harsh to the more tender of us. This is because we have no understanding as to what "eternal" means, because in eternity God will withdraw the dimension of time. Existence without time is something I find too difficult for my finite mind to grasp. But such thoughts do help me not to sweat over what I can’t understand.
If Hell doesn’t exist, then Hitler murdered six million mothers, fathers, children, b rothers and sisters, and got away with it. Human reason demands its existence, but as to its eternality, I leave such thoughts in God’s hands. In the meanwhile, I say with the Apostle Paul, "Wherefore knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."
Friday, January 15, 2010
