I don't believe in hell - at least not in the way it traditionally has been represented to us. I do believe that Jesus tries to warn us repeatedly that our choices have consequences. The one law of the universe that you cannot violate is this: What you sow you also reap.
God may not send you to hell, but, if our free will means anything, God may have to let us live in the hells of our own making. There are consequences for our choices. Eternity may be nothing more than being released from all our pretense and rationalizations. We may see ourselves for who we really are, and that may be torment enough. Perhaps that is what Jesus is trying to warn us of.
One day God visited a special old saint. “You have been a faithful follower of mine all these years,” God said. “Is there anything that still puzzles you about my kingdom?”
“Yes,” the saint confessed. “Although I have read all of the words of Scripture, I still have no idea what heaven and hell are like. I would be deeply grateful if you help me understand.”
“Normally I do not answer questions that belong to the realm of mystery,” God said, “but since you have led such an exemplary life, I will give you a preview of the world to come.”
In the twinkling of an eye the woman was transported through time and space until she found herself standing before the gates of hell. It was not at all what she expected. As she walked through the magnificent black gates, the old saint was struck with the beauty of the place.. Ahead of her she saw a huge banquet room with long tables filled with food. It was the most delicious food she had ever seen.
All the residents of hell were seated about the tables. They all looked normal except for one very important difference. All of the people had very large arms, nearly six feet in length. At the end of each arm was a fork, but the people were unable to eat because no one had an elbow. Even though all of the food was so close at hand, they were unable to put the forks into their mouths. The sounds of hell were not very pleasant, for the people cried out in agony.
Suddenly the woman was transported to heaven. Ahead of her were gleaming white gates. When she walked into the celestial city she was surprised to see that things looked very much like they did in hell.. Ahead of her was a banquet table, quite similar to the one she had seen moments before. The food looked amazingly similar.
As the woman walked closer to the table, she could see that people were built identically to those in hell. All had long arms with no elbows, and forks at the end. The sounds in heaven, however, were very different. People were laughing and singing, for they found their long arms to be no great disadvantage. Each person simply loaded his or her fork and then reached out across the table to a friend. The situations were identical except for this one thing: in heaven people fed each other.
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