There is a popular notion that most people go to heaven, yet Saint Matthew describes the path to heaven as a “narrow gate”, and that the road to destruction is wide.
And yet we know that God desires all to return to heaven.
In Saint Paul's first letter to Timothy, he says God, “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
This is echoed by John, “Christ died in expiation for the sins of the whole world.” No one is irredeemable. We also know God doesn’t punish those, who through no fault of their own, know nothing of Him.
Does Hell fit what we know of a just and merciful God? We know He gives us free will to choose the good of this world and the rewards that follow, or to choose the bad, with its raft of consequences.
Because of Gods tendency toward mercy, you could say that the only people in Hell are those that choose to be there, declining Gods loving invitation to heaven. If we don’t choose to accept his mercy and heaven, we may effectively choose Hell.
Let’s pray today for all Souls, but especially those that don’t know God, along with those angry or dispirited with Him. May the light of love and truth break into their lives. Let all choose true love and the eternal joy of heaven. Amen.