I’ve heard different definitions for eternity. I listened as evangelists stood in churches my father pastored and attempted to explain how long eternity was, hoping to encourage the nonbelievers to believe.
One of their attempts involved a bird and a mountain made of the hardest diamond. Every one hundred years, the bird would approach the mountain to sharpen its beak. When he had finally worn away the mountain, only one second of eternity had passed.
Unfortunately, these, and other similar illustrations, attempt to relate eternity to time. But eternity can’t be measured in chronos (chronological) time because it is concocted in kairos (God’s) time. Yet, the message gets across. Eternity is a long time to spend apart from God.
The Bible says anyone who fails to believe in Christ by faith spends eternity in a place absent of God. “And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15 NLT).
Hell may seem unfair. To put someone there eternally with no hope of escape or relief may seem even more unjust. But I don’t make the rules; God does. I’ve heard the statement, “It doesn’t seem fair for God to send someone to hell.” But God doesn’t assign anyone to hell. We make this eternal choice if we refuse to believe in Jesus’ payment for our sins.
Some choices have eternal consequences, and whether to choose or refuse Christ is one of them. From the beginning, God established the guidelines. As Creator, he has the authority. Accept him and abundant life and eternal life in heaven is ours. Reject him, and misery and hell will follow. We may wish it another way, argue with God that it should be, or even refuse to believe he exists, but such vain attempts won’t change anything. Reality is what it is.
Since God has established life’s guiding principles, it’s fair for him to punish eternally those who choose to walk another way—snubbing their noses at him in the process. How much better to choose the brighter path?
Martin Wiles is an author, pastor, English teacher, and freelance editor who resides in Greenwood, South Carolina. He is the founder and editor of the internationally recognized website, Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com). Wiles is the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions, the Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, a Proof Editor for Courier Publishing, and Assistant Editor for Vinewords.net. He has also served as Web Content Editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolina. Wiles has authored Don’t Just Live…Really Live (Ambassador International), A Whisper in the Woods: Quiet Escapes in a Noisy World (Ambassador International), Grits & Grace & God and Grits, Gumbo, and Going to Church (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas), Morning By Morning, Morning Serenity, and Grace Greater Than Sin (America Star Books) and is a contributing author in Penned from the Heart (Son-Rise Publications), Rise (Chaplain Publishing), and Love Knots (Vine-Word Publishing). He has served as Regional Correspondent and Sunday school lesson writer for the Baptist Courier and has also written for Lifeway’s Bible Studies for Life curriculum. He has also been published in Christian Living in the Mature Years, Mature Living, Parenting Teens, Open Windows, Proclaim, Stand Firm, The Secret Place, The Word in Season, The Upper Room, The Upper Room Disciplines, Light from the Word, Reach Out Columbia, Mustard Seed Ministries, Journey Christian Newspaper, Common Ground Herald, The Quiet Hour, Power for Living, Halo Magazine, Joyful Living Magazine, Christian Broadcasting Network, Converge, Sharing, Today’s Christian Living, These Days, Plum Tree Tavern, Eskimo Pie, The Scarlet Leaf Review, Creation Illustrated, LIVE, Purpose Magazine, The Banner, Relevant, Bible Advocate, Reasons to Live, Author Magazine, and Lutheran Digest. Wiles has also written for the Bridges and Pathways Curriculum (Warner Press) and is a regular contributor to Christian Devotions, PCC Daily Devotions, Theology Mix, Inspire a Fire, The Write Conversation, Inkspirations, and VineWords and is a regular writer for the Dorchester County Eagle Record, the Orangeburg County Times and Democrat, and the Greenwood County Index Journal. Wiles has also served on faculty for the Asheville Christian Writer’s Conference. crat, and the Greenwood County Index Journal. Wiles also serves as the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions , the Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, and as a Proof Editor for Courier Publishing. You can follow him @linesfromgod.
