While leading me to salvation at the age of four, my wonderful mama provided me with a good understanding of such doctrines as man's innate sin nature and the requisite result of eternal seperation from God. Even as a little girl, I understood that if my unsaved family and friends died in unbelief, God's judgment of their sin would condemn them to this ultimate torment...I can remember moments of desperation when I pleaded (in tears even) for the salvation of family or friends. In my dad's case, this was especially harrowing--the concept of his eternal seperation from God even permeated my sleep in the terrible, reoccuring nightmares.
About four years ago, however, I realized anew the concepts of the "eternal soul" and "eternal condemnation". Instead of understanding eternal death/seperation from God as something that happened after physical death, I came to comprehend it as something that was happening every millisecond of an unbeliever's life...and that perspective has altered the way I view life...
Walking home from the library, I was watching people go about their city lives when these terrible images and realization swept over me. I saw these strangers dying. I could see this strange, frightening, unstoppable death, happening second by agonizing second before my eyes! It was almost unbearable to witness this massive, horrible, slow decay of human souls! The images and realization were so vivid...
It shook me. I literally felt physically ill. I couldn't dismiss (and I can't forget) the images of this state of perpetual dying--in a sense, I could almost smell its "stench". And that broke my heart.
I still have moments when I'm watching people riding the bus with me, children at the playground, the teller at the bank, the couple laughing together over dinner at my favourite coffee shop...And I see those images. I see them playing, teasing, laughing, or crying in complete ignorance of their own souls' horrific, continuing decay. When I see that, my heart just screams and I want nothing more than to reveal that eternal state to them and offer them Hope...
All this to say, (I remind myself too, just by posting this) remember that every unbelieving person you see is dying, dead, decaying...their souls are eternal and so is their punishment if they don't accept Christ. Images like that are a call to active witness!
"But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."--2 Timothy 4:5
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I am so privileged to be walking toward Heaven w/ you. I admire the way in which you invite, pull, & gather others to come along...thank you.
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