Watching television with my wife last night we were well into a crime show she enjoys watching when the star of the show stated that pulling the fire alarm doesn’t work for clearing out a building anymore because “people ignore alarms and are waiting for the flames before they’ll leave”.
Right about there I checked out of the TV show as my mind went to the profound truth that was just stated. People aren’t scared of Hell anymore. No matter how much we preach about Hell or read what the Scriptures state about Hell people aren’t scared of the warnings anymore.
My wife and I were in the area Children’s hospital a couple of weeks ago for several days with our niece when the fire alarm went off one afternoon. We looked around and realized that everyone that worked there completely ignored it. It was much like walking through the parking lot when the car alarm goes off and everyone complains about how annoying the alarm is without anyone actually concerned that someone might be breaking into a car. We are desensitized to warning labels, caution signs and safety precautions.
We preach about the horrors of Hell and I think the message is falling on deaf ears. People aren’t scared of the reality of hell. Everything around them is warning them of the ‘worst case scenario’. Which leads them to wonder if the church isn’t just doing the same thing?
So how do we reach a world that isn’t scared of hell anymore? LOVE. We must share the love of God to a lost world. We may live in a world where people are desensitized to the reality of Hell fire, but we also live in a world that is full of despair, loneliness, pain, depression and hurt. Love is the answer. People are looking for hope. This doesn’t remove the truth of Hell and Eternal Damnation – this just focuses on the needs of the people that we are trying to reach today. People that are just ‘waiting for the flames’ and we know that waiting until they see the flames of Hell is way too late!
