“And they lived happily ever after.” A “happy ending” — now that’s the way for a story to end. All troubles over, all problems solved, all relationships neatly worked out, and nothing ahead but enjoyment of the new and permanent pleasures.
Yes, that’s the happy ending of a story, but — life isn’t like that.
Life — mortal life — ends very differently. In a hospital or on a sickbed at home — in a crashing accident on the street — in a war, or as the victim of a crime — life usually comes to its suffering, sorrowful end.
Mortal life — that is, the life we have lived in our bodies — has an end. But there is no end for the soul. It will go on — and on — and on — beyond the utmost limits of our finite minds.
There will be no “ending”; no end will be possible. But there are two choices for that endless existence. It with its immortal body can be spent with God, where there will be “fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:1111Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11)) forever, or you will be with the devil and his angels, where you will be in “the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 1313Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 13)). The choice is yours.
That choice must be made now, too, and made before your life on earth comes to its end. It is not possible to wait until after death and then say, “Oh, I made a mistake! I don’t like the darkness; I wish I had made the other choice. I’m going to change my mind!”
There are no bridges between hell and heaven; it will be too late to cross over. If in this life you have refused — or merely neglected — to receive God’s offer of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ, it will be too late to change — forever too late.