Mary opened her eyes sleepily. Greg also was waking up. He had come home from his nightshift job only an hour and a half earlier, and normally they would still be sleeping. What had awakened them at this early hour?
There it was again ... a regular thumping sound followed by some scratching on the bedroom door. Thumper! Why was he bothering them? Usually the rabbit was well behaved and quiet while they slept! Then they heard a strange noise. It sounded like windows were breaking somewhere nearby!
They jumped out of bed to investigate and soon discovered the windows they heard breaking were at the back of their own house! And even more frightening, they were breaking because their house was on fire! They grabbed Thumper, called the fire department, and ran outside. Suddenly, Thumper wasn’t a nuisance—he was a hero!
Has anyone ever “awakened” you by telling you about a fire—an eternal one—that may soon overtake you? God tells us in the Bible about a real place called hell, which is described as the “lake of fire.” This is the place where all those who don’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will one day be sent to spend their eternity. It is a horrible place, because it was prepared for the devil and his angels. But sadly, many people are listening to Satan’s lies, and he is going to lead them right to his own miserable place of torment and punishment that will have no end.
For Greg and Mary, there was an end to their fire. Thanks to Thumper their pet rabbit, the three of them got out without harm, and the house itself was saved from being completely destroyed. Even before the fire trucks arrived, helpful neighbors came with hoses to spray water on the flames. Then the fire trucks pulled up and finished putting out the fire.
However, we want to warn you that in hell there will be no end to that fire, and there will be no helpful friends to take away the torment. The Bible plainly says, “There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:4242And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:42)). No happiness there! And the worst part is that it is forever.
This story about Greg and Mary had a happy ending, and so can your life. Right now, if you will listen to the warning from God Himself, you can be saved from such an awful eternity in the lake of fire. The good news is that God loves you so much He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for you. About 2000 years ago, the perfect, sinless, holy Son of God was nailed to a cross where God Himself punished Him for the sins of every person who would believe that He died for their sins. If you will believe and accept what Jesus did for you on that cross, you will be saved from hell, and God promises that you will have a wonderful, happy home in heaven with the Lord Jesus forever. “God so loved the world [that includes you], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever [that includes you, me or anyone else] believeth in Him should not perish [in hell], but have everlasting life [in heaven]” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
There are only two places to go at the end of your life. Those two places are heaven and hell. Which one will you choose?
ML-07/24/2011