GO TO HELL!!!!!
My mother would scream at my Dad as a child. Among the fighting and arguing this phrase would always catch my attention as it came out during the culmination of the conflict. I didn't know what the phrase meant, but I knew when it was used it meant the worst of things to say. So begins my fear of Hell and the need to avoid it at all costs. Even today when past profanities are a part of everyday language "Go to Hell" seems to still carry its weight in cursing. I made a vow as a young kid that Hell would not be an option for me. Whatever the path, it must be made up of TRUTH and not some fantasy as I was bound for Hell the day I was born. We all screw up but at a young age I simply screwed up more than the average kid. I walked around empty thinking I'm headed for no good.
One dark morning after getting up for school, I asked myself "why do I wake up everyday?" I walked out of my room to stand in a long, dark hallway. I saw two sources of light that cold winter morning. One was a light under one bathroom door ahead of me as my dad was shaving getting ready for work. The other light at the end of the hallway was the kitchen where my Grandmother was cooking breakfast. In that instant I saw my whole life in front of me. I started thinking, I would wake up for school everyday, and then wake up to prepare for work everyday, and finally be old and fix breakfast for my grandkids. And then...die!!! Needless to say after that morning, I had a pretty empty perspective of life.
So I came home from school soon after and decided to cut to the chase. I slowly climbed up a window sill and clutched to the window frame and thought... one second and a little push and I don't have to go through it any more. But something happened; I had my first realization that I was afraid of heights. After 15 minutes of standing there I came down shaking. I said there has to be an alternative. I was eight years old.
I guess I could make the case that if there is a God, God certainly made me afraid of heights to help me be here today to share with you how God has impacted my life. But then again "if there IS a God", I want to tell you how God miraculously appeared to me in front of the window and said, "Brian!!! Get your butt down from there because I'm real and I want you to tell everyone about Me!!!" But then again, you probably wouldn't believe such a story and it didn't happen anyway. So how do I make you understand about Jesus Christ just by reading this little essay? I can't.
We are all on that window sill clutching to what we think can save us or create in our minds a rationale to justify our actions to exist. What Jesus is asking is something you cannot hold or attain through a set of criteria's. What He is asking is to have FAITH! Dictionary - Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. Bible Definition - Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
The key question is what do we place our
faith in? Is it prosperity, fame,
respect, power, ambition, money, being a good person, being a good basketball
player? And where is it said that these are to be the ultimate goals in life? Because if they are, your life is made up of short term ambitions. And I believe many
"23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God
is eternal life in[a]
Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans
GO TO HEAVEN!!!! But in doing so live a life that rewards you through good times and bad. If you need to reach me feel free. 415-516-2060 or me@brianchew.org
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