A Question About Hell

Dear Reader,

My family and I visited the home of our eldest relative - a Chinese tradition for the Lunar New Year. This eldest relative is beloved of the family, and the Christians have been hoping and praying for his salvation.

He always refuses, as he believes that he must stay with traditional Chinese religion in order to be reunited with his wife in the afterlife.

As Christians, we know there is a heaven and a hell. All sinners who reject Christ's atonement for their sins will go to hell, a place of eternal torment.

Stop and think. Hell is a place of fire and brimstone. There's no water. One remembers his thirst. (See story of the rich man and Lazarus in the Bible.) One burns. Now imagine that lasting not for a second, but for an eternity.

The doctrine of hell isn't something that is talked about. Many churches don't teach this simply because we do not understand why there even is a hell in the first place.

We ask ourselves. Why would a loving God who created man in His own image condemn that same creation to eternal torment? Since God is so loving, hell can't be real, we reason.

I never studied theology. I don't know all those fancy terms and phrases. All I know is this.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, there were severe consequences. Man now knew both good and evil. God, being holy and righteous, could not allow man to come before Him as he was. Sin stained man and separated man from God.

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23

God did not want this separation, so He established a plan of atonement and redemption, culminating in Christ's death and resurrection. Man no longer had to be separated from God, since atonement was given as long as they chose to accept it.

Why do people go to hell?

I think God honors one's choice. If you refuse Christ's atonement, you condemn yourself to be punished for your sins.

This is my rather imperfect understanding of it. To be honest, it's a question I find myself contemplating recently.

Do you have any insight into this matter, my dear Reader? I would love to know what you think on this topic and to hopefully enlighten my understanding. I would be most grateful if you could reference Scripture as well.

I am looking forward to reading your comments on this matter.

Until then, may God watch over you and yours.

Sincerely,
Joanna

Blogging, Self-Advertising and Social Media

Dear Reader,

The other day I read a few articles about how to improve one's blog. I agreed with some points, like posting meaningful content on a regular basis (something I truly have to work on).

But the last two points made me pause. They advised me to share on various social networks on a regular basis and to aggresively promote. In other words, self-advertise.

For the record, I don't mind sharing the links to my blog posts, especially on Facebook since my family members don't actively check my blog. But I share the link for each blog post once per network when it first comes out and no more. I refuse to do more than that.

I put myself in the reader's shoes and think. I don't like to follow people who keep posting links with no explanation or conversation. In fact, I un-follow such people who just advertise their blog links day-in and day-out for every single day. I don't like people who follow/friend me just to get me to follow/friend them back (and they proceed to unfollow/unfriend after I follow/friend).

Some people would probably say that I'm being naive and childish. Maybe so.

I don't care about the number of followers I have on Twitter or the number of friends I have on Facebook or Google+. These numbers don't mean that my blog is being read.

What I care about is this. Do the words I write mean anything to those who read it? Does my blog help people? Does it glorify God and magnify His name?

It doesn't matter if my readership is small because I don't aggresively promote. If what I write matters at all, word will spread.

Let God be the one to promote my blog. Let Him be the one to admonish my words.

If only one person is affected by the blog, praise God. 

This probably sounds crazy and goes against everything taught by successful bloggers.

What do you guys think? What are your thoughts on this?

May God bless you.

Yours Truly,
Joanna

The Racial Card

Dear Reader,

I remember an incident that happened some years ago, when I had just finished my first full-length novel. Eager for criticism, I presented a copy to a Christian lady I esteemed highly. We met again after she finished reading it. Strangely enough, out of the many things I had expected her to criticise (like plot development and description), she selected the way I dealt with the issue of race in my story.

"I find it offensive, as an African-American, to be called black," she told me. "And why does a black person always have to be a villain?"

I was frankly astounded and her words made quite an impression on me. In the story I had tried to even the races in the two sides (good and evil) so that it would be clear that it was not a matter of skin color, but of character. Evidently, it had not been enough. I had also thought the word "black" was an acceptable description, but I quickly learned it wasn't, either.

This situation -- and others that followed -- made me wonder. Why do we focus so much on the color of a person's skin? Why do we play the racial card? Christians seem to look at this as well.

What does the Bible say about race?

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Galatians 3:26-28, KJV

And again, in Colossians 3:11 (KJV), it is stated:

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

This means that we are all equal in Christ, regardless of the color of our skin. In Christ, there is no such thing as one race being superior to the other. 

We are to love our fellow man. How are we supposed to do that if we think, even subconsciously, that we are superior to them simply because of different skin color?

I have never cared about my skin color. What does it matter in God's great plan? From small, I have cared more about a person's character then his skin color.

Race does not define us. It does not define who we are in Christ. And the Bible clearly shows that we should not let race interfere in our bonds with one another.

Let's not play the racial card. Let's play the Christ card. 

Yours,
Joanna

New Year's Day, 2014 and the Night Before

Dear Reader,

The night of December 31, 2013, was not what I had expected.

Of course, we had the customary "Goodbye to the Old Year, Hello to the New" service. That was not unusual. Walking back home through a crowd of sweaty, dazed, maybe slightly drunk partygoers was a little unusual.

But being locked out of our family home for a good thirty minutes was completely unexpected. (A barking dog, a worried maid, three closed doors, and one metal latch contributed to that outcome.)

And fireworks occurred until the early hours of the New Year. And then I had a particularly disturbing nightmare.

Not exactly an auspicious start, am I right?

Other than that, January 1, 2014, passed quietly for me. My family went out for grocery shopping and spent the remaining time at home doing chores or amusing ourselves. I watched "Despicable Me 2" and did cross-stitching.

What lesson did I take from these events?

I can choose to let the events of the past affect my behavior and choices for the present and future.

Or I can choose to place my past where it belongs - in God's hands - and to not worry about the future - which is also in His hands - because He is with me in the present moment. And for forevermore He will be, as long as I cling to Him.

This goes for you as well, my dear reader. Shall we dwell and linger on the past, refusing to look forward? Or shall we move to the future with wisdom gained from past mistakes?

As we endeavour to grow in God in the following year, may He give us strength and wisdom to do what is right.

May God bless you all.

Yours Truly,
Joanna
A Minister's Daughter