Not too long ago I was talking to a young man who had been through college and he was just about finished with law school. He had life pretty well planned out. He had a bright future. He would probably get a high-paying job.
So I asked him, “What will you do after you graduate?”
He told me some of his plans for the future. It looked like he was going to be hired by a large law firm. He told me the kind of work that he would do.
So, I asked him, “And then what?”
He told me that he had a girlfriend. They were very serious. They would get married shortly.
So, I asked him, “And then what?”
He told me he and his wife would raise a family, have fun with the kids, go on vacations and do a lot of neat things together.
“And then what?” I asked.
He looked at me and said, “Well, after I make a lot of money, we will buy a large house in the country. I would like to get a wooded piece of land with a nice pond on it. I can stock it with fish. I love fishing. Me, and my wife, and the kids—we can all go fishing.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“Well,” he said, “I will retire and do some travelling. I really want to go snorkeling in the South Pacific. Those coral reefs have lots of colorful fish.”
“And then what,” I asked.
He paused, and looked down. “I guess I’ll die.”
“And then what?”
Death, according to the Bible, is not the end of our existence. Every human being is immortal. That means, after death, everyone of us will spend eternity somewhere.
There is a place called “Heaven” and there is another place called “Hell.”
A person’s arrival at either one of these eternal destinations is neither automatic, nor is it necessary. God forces no one to go to Heaven, or to Hell. It’s a matter of personal choice.
When people reject the gift of eternal life, it is their choice—a bad one at that. When people accept the gift of eternal life, that is also their choice.
How about you? What choice do you make about eternity?