Think about this. People die every day on this planet and go straight to hell “where the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43). Underline and highlight “never” in your Bible. Never means never. Understand this: hell is completely void of all hope. There is none—ever. Only hopelessness and despair forever.
Now think about this. Someone falls headlong into hell today “where the fire never goes out.” There is not even a sliver of hope that one million years from today this new occupant would have one second of reprieve from the burning. If there were, he would have hope and have something to look forward to, but there is no freedom from the burning, gnashing of teeth, and torture. None. It lasts forever.
“Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place” (2 Kings 22:20). God gave King Josiah some pretty good promises here. He could have sat around on his laurels and not cared about anyone else, but he did not. Instead, he went to work and tried to take as many people as he could with him to the one true God.
Can I do any less? I must care for those perishing around me and do everything in my power to be a light and show people the way to Jesus Christ. He is the only Hope this world has. I cannot be satisfied with my salvation alone. What about my neighbor? What am I doing to help others find their way to Jesus?
I’m so thankful Jesus loved me enough to leave heaven and come to earth to rescue me from death. What will I do today to help someone know Jesus? What will you do? Do we love people like Jesus? Do we care for others like Josiah?
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). May God’s fire in our hearts for others “never go out.”