I am immediately reminded of something that happened to me several years ago.  Pamela and I did an Easter musical at a Baptist church, where the father of a good friend of ours was the pastor.  The whole cast was really very nice, and very kind to both of us. The last night of the show, one of the cast members had a little get-together at his house.  There was a campfire in the back yard, and lots of hot dogs.  At one point, the guy whose house it was and myself were roasting hot dogs over the fire, and he said to me, "Seeing those hot dogs roasting, I think about all those souls in Hell who didn't accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior."  I didn't know exactly how to respond to that.  I mean, here I am, wondering if my hot dog is almost done, and this guy is talking about souls burning in Hell!  I've always thought that was an odd response to the grace of God.  For example, when I get a present for Christmas or my birthday, I don't think I've ever said, "Wow, thanks for the gift.  This reminds me of all those kids in sweat shops who aren't getting any presents this year."  

 

There are many Christians who seem to believe that the main thing we need to do to evangelize others is to get them worried about going to Hell.  I don't think that's how Jesus usually preferred to present the Kingdom of God. Most parables Jesus told didn't use "scare tactics." Rather, Jesus told stories like the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan, to name a couple from Luke's Gospel. Stories of reconciliation, stories that challenged us, rather than scaring us into submission.  What would we think of someone who tried to get his child to behave by telling the child that, if he wasn't good, monsters were coming to eat him up?  Wouldn't we think that was irresponsible parenting?  I know I would.  I think telling others of the great love of God will always work better than telling them of the horrors of "the lake of fire."

 

I realize of course, that Scripture isn't just a collection of warm, fuzzy, feel-good tales.  The quote above from Revelation is an example.  However, I would also point out that Revelation has some beautiful passages about God wiping away every tear, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, passages that are often overshadowed in the popular imagination by the better-known passages about the Mark of the Beast or the Lake of Fire. In their zeal to scare the unconverted into repentance, some of our Christian brothers and sisters can lose sight of the love of God, which led him to give His only Son for the redemption of the world.