Humans can be very short-sighted creatures. We often see only what is in our scope of vision, believe only what is in our scope of understanding, and fear only what is temporary. Believers in Christ should be different. We shouldn’t limit what we understand as “seeing” to this physical world because we know that there is also a spiritual realm. We shouldn’t believe only what we can understand with our human minds because we know that God can move in ways we can’t understand. And we shouldn’t fear what is temporary because we understand that there is an eternity with eternal finality. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 10:28:
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
Most people believe that the worst thing that can happen to them is a horrible premature death. But Jesus tells us otherwise. The worst thing for any human being is a horrible afterlife –spending eternity in hell. In this life, the worst thing I can comprehend one person doing to another is extended torture culminating in death. But that is the worst they can do. God holds the keys to our eternity. He is the one who has the power to destroy both soul and body in hell. That, to me, is the absolute worst scenario for anyone. But there is good news. Jesus died for us so that we can avoid that fate. To take advantage of this gift takes a leap of faith. It requires a belief in something we can’t see with our human eyes or fully comprehend with our human brains. But it is more real, and more permanent than life itself.
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Jesus warns us not to fear men who can only destroy the body, but to fear God, the only one can destroy both body and soul in hell. If we could wrap our minds around the concept of eternity, we would realize how dire this portion of scripture really is. In life, we consider “dire” a “life and death situation”. Jesus reminds us that there is something worse than death. And the only way to escape the flames of hell is to accept the gift of Jesus’ death on the cross for us, and to obey his commandments outlined in the bible. If you haven’t made that commitment yet, I pray that you do today. It will be the most important decision you can make in this life.