Musings

WHAT IF?

Heaven and Hell.

I’ve heard a lot of arguments about these. Whether or not they’re real. What you have to do (or not do) to get into either.

I’m not here to debate.

But pause. Think about it for a minute. What if? Just what if they’re real?

What if there really is a burning pit where people go after they die?

Every time time I think about hell the scary part for me isn’t the fire or torture. No sir. It’s the endlessness. Like there’s no dying to escape your misery. It goes on. There’s no end.
You know that’s what keeps people in really bad situations from committing suicide. The fact that they believe things will get better. They have hope. The very second you take away every iota of hope, they start to think suicide. For me, that’s the scary part about hell. No hope. No end. You just suffer forever and ever and ever and ever…

A lot of people believe that being a real Christian entails adhering to strict laws and getting condemned when you fall short. From my personal experience, I’ve realised that this isn’t what it is. It’s a beautiful love relationship; free of condemnation and full of Grace. I’m still not where I should be but We’re working towards it. I really wouldn’t live my life any other way.

I don’t believe people get sent to hell for committing sin. I think people get sent to hell for rejecting Jesus. God knows it’s impossible to not sin on our own even if we make all the resolutions in the world. That’s where Jesus comes in. To help us become the people we need to be so that we don’t have to do hell.

My cousin died the other day. First born of two, wasn’t 30 yet. His father died late ’09. He’d just got his first job and was starting to take care of his mom (retired teacher) and his younger brother who’s in his 2nd year at FUTO. Accident. Bike accident. One minute here; the next gone. How many bikes have you clambered on this year???

Since December 2010, a whole lot of young people have been dying. We talk about it a lot and all but this one really hit close to home.

I like to think that I’ll see him again in heaven.

As you go about your business pause for a second and ask yourself; WHAT IF?

25 thoughts on “WHAT IF?”

  1. Oh Dania! Click on the link in my second to last most recent post (not Trust). It’ll get you thinking thoughts that probably inspired this post.

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  2. I think about this ALL the time.
    Then, I’d Try not to dwell on it and just live life. Easier that way.

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  3. hmmmmm, this post has too many land mines, i’m not sure i can navigate my way through this without causing any explosions…lol. But yeah, i feel u. Losing someone close, makes u question life. heaven, hell..etc. i guess all we can do is try to live good lives( as precribed by whatever religion we practice), cross our fingers and hope for the best when death comes knocking.

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  4. Its not just the thought that matters, its ultimately the decision afterwards.
    I’m going to make heaven by His grace n cos he loved me enuf to choose me.
    Everyday, I just have to try n stay on that narrow path.
    Brilliant D, food for thought, I hope it goes down well

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  5. That’s the thing that gets to me too– there’s no end to it..
    I used to get motivated by the fear before. I used to think it was all too hard to be.
    Then I was made to realize it wasn’t about what ‘I’ could do.. As you said, ‘We’ are working on it.

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  6. sorry bout ur cuz….as per heaven n hell…m kinda on the fence(atheist?)…which kinda sucks for me i guess….bt if theres heaven n hell i’ll rather be in heaven…maybe ishuld start workin on dat #foodforthought ….thnx babe

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  7. Every now and again, I wonder “What if… it was all a lie?” And there was no heaven, no hell. No consequence, no reward. No life after death… And I find that besides the sureness within my spirit, the affirmation of my faith, the truth within my heart, I’m pretty sure I’d rather err on the side of living my life for an inexistent Christ and discovering there was nothing afterwards afterall than ignoring Him and finding that forevermore did exist…

    Beautiful work, Ada

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  8. I really try not to think about it but its a good idea to walk in the consciousness of the fact that there just might be heaven & hell afterall&act accordingly. Better safe than sorry ey? So sorry about your Cousin, God knows why and he will comfort & provide for his mum and brother, Amen.

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  9. U cud nt ve said it any beta. M certain that even the vilest of all criminals also think about this, one time or the other in their lives, WHAT IF! Salvation is said to be personal, I knw that heaven and hell is for me is nt wat if but WHAT IS. The rate @ which young ppl r dying is unbecoming,but that’s how u knw d world is coming to an end soon. I lost a friend d oda day,he slumped while he was playin football on a saturday n died. Sorry abt ur frd Dee, bt our joy in all these happenings is dt we know that we would some day see our frds again as long as they were born again.

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  10. This has crossed my mind a lot of times and it scares me silly. For ever and ever….. Guess we just hv to make the effort to live right, May God help us.

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  11. I like to tell myself that if there is a heaven and a hell, then judgement would be based on d goodness of a man’s heart, cos if we needed religion’s rules to get into heaven, then virtually nobody would get in, my opinion.

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  12. Nice post ma. In my humble opinion it isn’t your righteousness that gets questioned when u sin, it is your identity as a person. The devil knows he can’t attack our righteousness because Jesus already established that,what he goes after is our identity so that our names are actually taken outta d book. On the issue of what if. It is obviously obvious that heaven and he’ll are both real. It is like asking if GOD is real

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  13. Thinking on this scares me. I try to rely on God but sometimes thinking about how I live my life and the possible consequences??…sigh, His grace will keep us. Sorry about your cousin.

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  14. Great stuff Dania…u even managed not to make it sad…*wink*
    Dis is one topic we all think about but feel uncomfortable when it’s spoken about…bottom line for me is wherever God’s presence will be is where I want to be…period…

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  15. Big big question,–> what if?

    Definitely something most people take time to think about. A part of me is filled with anger when I think about “what if there is no heaven or hell and all wicked&evil people on earth are jus gonna get away with all these acts – and turn to bones like everyone else??”

    I sincerely hope not, and I believe there just has be some sort of Judgement some day. Its only fair there is.

    Great post.

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  16. Good one, Ada. A quite necessary reminder in these days. I would like to further comment but this is a very touchy topic and my views on heaven and hell may be controversial (esp with regards to Angelica Zambrano’s visions). I might just blog about it someday…

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  17. Nice one Dania,

    Bold post
    …considering what some of your readers might think of you….

    Sorry about your cousin though…

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  18. It’s a very thought-provoking piece…..but ultimately, it’s decisions made after this that count the most….For me, it’s pure word, that has to “die and not abide alone, but bring forth fruit”, through our decisions and actions.

    Deeply sorry about ur cousin……He’s always in control.

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What are your thoughts?