You're Probably Going To Hell

"You're probably going to Hell."

That's what a friend of mine half jokingly said to me one evening as we had a disagreement over something in the Bible. It was quite late so I didn't hold it against him, but it got me thinking. Is that what faith is about? Is the reason that I am a Christian solely because I want to go to Heaven instead of Hell?

Is Christianity really just about your destination when you die? People say to me "You won't know if any of this is true until you die.” We see controversial preachers and churches telling us that we’re going to Hell if we don’t agree with their teachings. There’s great debate between churches about whether dogs are allowed in Heaven. Time and time the chief selling point for Christianity seems to be a place in Heaven when you die. We've made Christianity about the afterlife, and wonder why, in a culture where life expectancy is only getting higher, people are less and less interested.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that a big part of Christianity is centred around the notion of life after death. The Bible says Jesus came into the world and died in our place so that we could inherit eternal life, and that is utterly fantastic. But if Heaven is just our destination, what relevance does Christianity have to my life right now? We know that because of grace, we don’t need to do anything except accept Jesus’ sacrifice for us in order to get eternal life. But if that doesn't start until we die, does it matter what I do right now? If eternal life starts when we die, then why don’t we just get on with our lives until we die because we’ve got our place in Heaven. Our destination is decided by the blood of Jesus, no need to worry, right?

Except eternal life doesn’t start when we die. Rob Bell, in his ever controversial book, Love Wins, said:

“To say it again, eternal life is less about a kind of time that starts when we die, and more about a quality and vitality of life now in connection to God. Eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts now. It's not about a life that begins at death; it's about experiencing the kind of life now that can endure and survive even death.”

In the book of Luke Jesus said:

“‘The kingdom of God (Heaven) doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.’” (‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20-21‬ The Message)

The Kingdom of God (Heaven) isn’t a place we go to when we die, but a reality we can live in now that lasts forever. When we give our lives to God, we enter into this reality, and we are light in the world, bringing Heaven to Earth as we live for Jesus in the now.

Heaven is among us.

When Jesus taught us how to pray, he included the lines “Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven.” When we make Heaven our destination and not our present reality, we fundamentally miss the point of this prayer and what it means to follow God. We make it about getting people to Heaven when they die rather than inviting them to experience Heaven right now.

You only have to turn on the news, to see that Hell is a reality that many experience right now. War, famine, poverty, murder, rape, people trafficking, the list goes on and on. The world is full of pain and suffering. Rob Bell writes:

“If this understanding of the good news of Jesus prevailed among Christians, the belief that Jesus’s message is about how to get somewhere else, you could possibly end up with a world in which millions of people were starving, thirsty, and poor; the earth was being exploited and polluted; disease and despair were everywhere; and Christians weren’t known for doing much about it. If it got bad enough, you might even have people rejecting Jesus because of how his followers lived. That would be tragic.”

When God created humanity, he created us in his image. He created us to reflect him and to be his hands and feet in the world. We have the power in us to bring hell to Earth, to bring destruction, pain and suffering. Or we can choose to bring Heaven. We can choose to go to the places of darkness, brokenness and hell on Earth, and bring the light and love of Jesus. When we choose to follow Jesus, we don’t sign up to a destination when we die. That would be the easy option, but eternal life is a much higher calling. When we choose to follow Jesus, we are invited to be people who bring heaven to Earth.

What if Christianity wasn’t known for telling people they are going to Hell, but for bringing people out of Hell? What if instead of telling people how to get to Heaven, we instead showed them the reality of Heaven in the way we live and love?

Sex Shops and Christian Acronyms

I recently travelled to San Francisco. Whilst I was there I saw all the sights: the Golden Gate Bridge; Alcatraz; Union Square - it is a truly wonderful place. I made friends with some of the locals and they showed me around the city, taking me to some of the places tourists don't see and helping me find really good deals. One afternoon, we were shopping around Union Square. There are hundreds of shops there, from Apple to Levis, all the way to vintage book stores and eight floors of Macy's. I was following them around because they knew the city better than me and I wasn't planning on buying much. Just as the sun was setting and we had finished our burritos from Chipotle, I found myself in a shop unlike any I'd been to in my whole life. It was a little store called Good Vibrations and, from the outside, looked like most other shops, but the inside was a whole other story - it was a sex shop. As a relatively innocent and sheltered boy growing up, I felt rather uncomfortable. In my head I was thinking, 'What if somebody from church sees me in here? They'll excommunicate me' (it didn't occur to me that, for that to happen, they'd have to be in the shop as well!). Nonetheless, I followed my friends around the store trying not to touch anything, and I left feeling confused and for some reason a little bit dirty.

Then the other morning, as I was praying and reflecting, I was reminded of this experience. I was asking myself where God was in that place and whether it was OK for me to have been there as a Christian. Then I felt God say to me that he was there in that place through me. Because I was in that place, so was God, because I carry his presence and love.

In Matthew 5 Jesus says:

'"You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."' Matthew 5:14-16 (The Message)

I am light in dark places.

I used to think that my job as a Christian was to wear a wristband with a cheesy acronym like 'WWJD' (What Would Jesus Do?) or 'FROG' (Fully Rely On God). That if I wore a hoody with the letters 'JC/DC' (Jesus Christ, Demon Crusher), told my friends that they shouldn't have sex and spent all my free time at church, then I was a good Christian and spreading the gospel.

All I needed to do was look holy, sound holy and make sure that everywhere I went was holy. I had to stay away from darkness, stay away from 'worldliness' and 'remain pure'.

But that was wrong.

It was wrong because no amount of darkness can put out light. If you take a candle and place it in a room with no windows and no doors, it looks brighter in the darkness than it does in the light. Light penetrates darkness and no amount of darkness can ever put out light because darkness only exists when light is not there.

As Christians, often we think we need to stay away from darkness. I was told countless times as a teenager to stay away from places that were 'worldly' because they would corrupt me or make me stray from God. But that simply isn't true. God called us to be lights in the darkness, not a holy huddle.

That said, sometimes the light does go out.

So many times, I've seen friends who were once shining brightly for God but then stopped; they've turned away from God and the light that was in them has flickered and faded. And it's heartbreaking. But we need to stop blaming the darkness.

We don't blame darkness for causing the flame of a candle to go out; we know from chemistry that fire needs three ingredients, heat, fuel and oxygen. We don't blame darkness when our lights go out at home; we know from physics that lamps need electricity. The light goes out because it needs something to survive.

And so do we.

We are light in the world when our identity is in Jesus and the sacrifice he made for us on the cross. When we give our lives to Christ, we reflect his light and love around us and we are filled with the Holy Spirit - we are 'on fire' for God. Just like physical fire, this spiritual fire has three ingredients it needs to survive. If these three ingredients are not there, chances are that the light will start to fade and the flame will start to flicker. Our fire will go out. We need to make sure that we nurture and maintain these so that our lights remain bright no matter where we go.

The first of these ingredients is community. Just as fire needs heat, so we need to make sure that we spend time with people that will keep us 'hot'. Having a community of people with whom we can talk to and pray regularly - whether this be a small group, a church, or just two or three friends - will ensure that we remain on fire and that our lights are bright. However, we mustn't take this too far and fall into the trap of only spending time with Christians. When our lights are bright, we must take them to the dark places; community is there to strengthen us and build us up for the places God sends us.

The second ingredient in fire is fuel. Our fuel is communication with God through prayer and the Bible, the Word of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus took time to recharge in prayer and the study of the scriptures. Time with God is essential to the Christian life and is something that we need to do as often as we can. C. H. Spurgeon said:

'It is a good rule never to look into the face of a man in the morning till you have looked into the face of God.'

Having time set aside to speak to God and for him to speak to us gives us the fuel we need to shine for him in the darkness. This can be as simple as reading the Bible on the train or saying a quick prayer in the car, but either way it is essential to the Christian walk.

The final ingredient to fire is oxygen. Our oxygen is connection with the Holy Spirit. Wherever we go, if the Holy Spirit is not with us then our lights do not stand a chance. As people filled with the Spirit, we need to be inviting the presence of God wherever we go, whether this means releasing his Spirit through spiritual gifts or simply asking God to rest upon you wherever you go. Having the Spirit as your source of identity and guidance will ensure you have the oxygen you need to be light in the dark places.

We need to stop being afraid of the darkness. We need to stop avoiding these places and staying in our 'holy huddles'. Jesus told us to bring light to the darkest corners of the Earth. He told us to stand out by living distinctive and bright lives for him in this world.

What would happen if we took that seriously? What would happen if we decided that we were going to be the light that Jesus talks about wherever we go? If we keep it burning with community, communication and connection? Maybe we would see God start to move in places we never thought possible. In the lives of our friends, in the places that we work, and maybe even in a sex shop in San Francisco.