A certain very practical man, whom we'll call Bob, took absolutely nothing for granted.
Bob kept a large toolbox and first-aid kit in the trunk of his Volvo, just in case.
He had a Swiss Army knife and cell phone in his briefcase, just in case.
Bob had insurance on everything. Why, he had insurance on his insurance, just in case.
He carried an umbrella with him to work even when the weatherman said there was more chance that the Cubs would win the World Series than that it would rain, just in case.
He filled his safe-deposit box with solid-gold Krugerands, just in case.
He had enough pension-fund money and IRAs to live well and travel often, even if he lived to 125, just in case.
But in all his preparation there was one thing Bob gave scarce thought to: What would happen to his soul after he died? What could be more impractical? he thought. He did not read the Bible seriously for himself. He avoided church. "Most likely," he would joke with his friends, "we die like a dog, and then it's over."
Wouldn't you know it, when Bob was forty-nine, his car was broadsided in an intersection by a drunk driver, and Bob died instantly. To Bob's surprise, though, his soul did not extinguish like a candle.
God said to him, "How could you be so foolish! You prepared for everything but what matters most: where your soul will spend eternity. And now forever and ever you will have nothing---nothing but unremitting sorrow."
After several thousand years in hell, Bob admitted to himself, What a fool I was to focus all my attention on that brief life on earth and ignore the life that will never end.
So will it be for all who do not prepare to meet God.
Afterlife, Death, Hell, Judgement
Amos 4:12; Luke 12:13-21
Bob kept a large toolbox and first-aid kit in the trunk of his Volvo, just in case.
He had a Swiss Army knife and cell phone in his briefcase, just in case.
Bob had insurance on everything. Why, he had insurance on his insurance, just in case.
He carried an umbrella with him to work even when the weatherman said there was more chance that the Cubs would win the World Series than that it would rain, just in case.
He filled his safe-deposit box with solid-gold Krugerands, just in case.
He had enough pension-fund money and IRAs to live well and travel often, even if he lived to 125, just in case.
But in all his preparation there was one thing Bob gave scarce thought to: What would happen to his soul after he died? What could be more impractical? he thought. He did not read the Bible seriously for himself. He avoided church. "Most likely," he would joke with his friends, "we die like a dog, and then it's over."
Wouldn't you know it, when Bob was forty-nine, his car was broadsided in an intersection by a drunk driver, and Bob died instantly. To Bob's surprise, though, his soul did not extinguish like a candle.
God said to him, "How could you be so foolish! You prepared for everything but what matters most: where your soul will spend eternity. And now forever and ever you will have nothing---nothing but unremitting sorrow."
After several thousand years in hell, Bob admitted to himself, What a fool I was to focus all my attention on that brief life on earth and ignore the life that will never end.
So will it be for all who do not prepare to meet God.
Afterlife, Death, Hell, Judgement
Amos 4:12; Luke 12:13-21