Hell, Heaven & How To Get There By Pete BriscoeSample

Do You Have a Cockeyed View of Hell?

Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company… All right, then, I’ll go to hell. — Mark Twain

I had a classmate in high school tell me once, “I’d rather party in hell with my friends than go to heaven without them!” If he had known what the Bible teaches about hell, I suspect his “party cry” would be different. You have to be cockeyed to verbalize this myth (let alone believe it), but many people do. It can be summarized by a poem I once saw on a birthday card:

Why worry?

Either you are well or you are sick.

If you are well you have nothing to worry about.

If you are sick you only have two things to worry about: either you will live or you will die.

If you live you have nothing to worry about.

If you die you only have two things to worry about: either you will go to heaven or you’ll go to hell.

If you go to heaven you have nothing to worry about.

If you go to hell, you’ll be so busy shaking hands with friends that you won’t have time to worry!

Happy Birthday!

The “cockeyed” myth says hell is going to be an eternal continuation of the party here on earth. But the truth is we’ll have a hell of a lot to worry about if we don’t go to heaven.

The haunting descriptions of hell in Scripture indicate that souls who go there exist in suspended isolation and darkness… forever (Matthew 8:12, Revelation 20:1-2). If someone says they would rather be in hell with their friends than in heaven alone, ask them why they think their friends are going to hell—and why they think they are going to be together? They probably won’t have an answer.

Heaven is where the party is going to be! An eternal eruption of praise and worship together. No more tears, no more death... who wouldn’t want to be there?!

Lord, use me today, as You see fit, to tell people about the party that awaits in heaven. By Your love flowing through me, invite those around me to join in the eternal dance of grace, together, with You. Amen.