Throughout Christian history, there has always been a voice from Christians who think everyone will be saved eventually. This is called “Universal Salvation,” or “Universal Reconciliation.” Either God will forgive those who oppose Him to the end or there will be a probation period of time in the afterlife where those who oppose God are given the chance to change.
We hear phrases like, “Jesus has arms wide open on the cross and he dies to embrace everyone,” or, as Pope Francis recently said, “”The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics.” Books like, “Love Wins,” by Rob Bell, come to mind, as well.
These phrases and books, and others like them, may not be advocating Universal Salvation, but they are interpreted by some as a calling for such. Most of this thinking begins with the viewpoint that Heaven is a place of bliss and Hell is a place of torment. Then the quotes start popping up.
“No loving God would create Hell.”
“God doesn’t want to lose anyone.”
“In the end God will bring all his children home.”
Well, there is a key piece missing in this whole “Universal Salvation” puzzle. I think it is obvious, but it must not be, because otherwise gifted authors and scholars, miss it. It’s called choice.
Not all kids end up home in the end. They don’t want to go home. In fact, some children leave home and never return. Not because they can’t; they don’t want to. They choose to stay away.
People choose to not want God in their lives all the time. If you live a life of not wanting God, eventually you can’t want God in your life. As human beings we have a finite will and we can exhaust that will into becoming the kind of people who can’t want God.
If this is the case, then why would people who don’t want God, who can’t want God in in their lives, want God in their lives? And even worse, why would they want God in their lives for eternity?
Heaven would become a place of torment. Especially when you are met by Jesus. Heaven would be worse than Hell. Right in front of your eyes, forever, you would be faced with your ultimate rejection and you would spend eternity knowing you are wrong. No one would choose such torment, willingly, would they? Unless you want to live with Jesus forever, Heaven is to be avoided if at all possible.
Dallas Willard says it this way,
“Heaven is a place for people who can stand it.”
I know it sounds crazy, but actually God is brilliant on this one. Hell becomes a gift of love in the end for people who don’t want Him. At least they get to spend eternity separated from God, and so rather than having to face they are wrong for eternity, at least they get to spend eternity blaming God for being wrong. Being unfair. And out of love, God can take the slander. Dallas says this about Hell:
“Hell is the best God can do for some people.”
