It seemed odd to me for several reasons. First, it could not have been a more beautiful day outside. An arid, scorching wind out of the south--with some lightning and thunder and dark clouds would have been more fitting.
The other odd thing is that hell is such an odd topic in our culture. How do you communicate the horror of eternity apart from God (which is the essence of hell) to a culture that has lost even the most basic concept of sin, or the holiness of God, or the depravity of our own hearts? When you consider that the majority of those who call themselves followers of Jesus have rejected the concept of hell, teaching on this is a daunting challenge to say the least.
I am not afraid to teach on this subject, mind you. I don't relish taking on controversial subjects but I don't shy away from them either. My main interest is communicating truth that sticks--where people "get it and get on with it."
So I sit here wondering, "God, did that make any sense to anyone...really?" Because if it did--if we took Jesus' teaching on hell seriously it seems to me it would result in a massive surge of spiritual boldness among his followers. If we stop and think about what Jesus actually rescued us from, there should be a surge of compassion for family and friends facing an eternity without Jesus.
Following the service a fine young man named Corey came up and thanked me. He told me the message "checked him into the boards" (a hockey term for you non-hockey fans). Truth be told, it checked me into the boards too.
If you missed the message or the series, "Taking Doubt Seriously," you can catch the podcast on www.bponline.org.
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