by László Balogh

I’ve seen this picture somewhere that said: “The question isn’t why a loving God would send somebody to hell. The question is: why would anyone choose hell over a loving God.” Now, I totally agree with the validity of this statement, but I know many people have a great problem with this too. They say: “What do you mean, I have to choose God or else I go to hell? That’s not choice, that’s dictatorship! I want to stay out of this whole thing, no God, no hell, nothing! I don’t choose either.”

And I actually understand the upsetting element of the above mentioned statement and the arrogance some might feel when faced with it, but only because of the context we all think in. Let me try to change the perspective here.

 
I think our heads are way too full of “religious” contexts. We’ve watched the church, their boring services, the less than exemplary priests, the damnation preaching Christians on the street, and yes, we think we know what Christianity is all about, and therefore we know God too. Now I would like you to forget about all these things; just imagine you’re from a different planet and you’ve never encountered any of this. You’re new, fresh and untouched. Imagine you’re walking in a gorgeous forest first, then on the field with lakes, gentle hills, flowers, birds, rabbits, etc. There is LIFE all around you. These different documentary films come to mind where they show a flower grow and bloom in fast forward, then a sunrise – sunset. Or they show a simple cell divide in two and life just spreads and multiplies. Or a baby conceive in the womb and grow to full term, etc. What makes all this happen? What makes a single organism procreate? It is still a challenge for scientists and philosophers to define life. There are many theories, but most of them are just speculation.
It is vital that you make a mental switch and grasp that, that indefinable, puzzling, mysterious life is God! Forget about the religion people made out of him! God is life!

 
Now, back to another scenario. Remember those nursery books that teach children about opposites? Big and small, right and left, up and down, hot and cold, etc. Let’s take that to the next level. Right and wrong, joy and sadness, love and hate, life and …what? Yes, life and death. Outside of life, there’s only death. You’re either alive or dead. If you don’t choose life, you choose death. There is no third option. There is no “just leave me out of that”, it’s plain and simple. There is no life outside of God. Just take that religious context out of your head and CHOOSE LIFE! That’s what it all boils down to. I don’t want to get into debates over Adam and Eve now, but just realize that the first thing they did after they lost their innocence was when they heard God’s voice, they went hiding. They lost their godly nature, put on this human nature, and now all of us “naturally” run and hide from God. Wrong context! It’s not natural to run from God. In the beginning it was not so. Jesus came to give us back this lost innocence. Through him we can regain our originally created godly value. Through him we inherit life!