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In John
12:32 Jesus says, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw
everyone to myself.” How can one understand these words when so many
people die without even having heard about Jesus, and if so many people die
within so many non-Christian religious denominations. Could the answer be
that Christ will fulfill his promise for all these people in eternity, i.e.,
when they have already died? If this is so, how can the existence of “the
eternal fires of hell” have any sense or fit into Christ’s
promise?
 o, the promise will be fulfilled
in this life. Jesus will draw everyone to Himself through His
resurrection, and, as we pray in the Fátima
prayer, He will lead all souls to heaven. Sadly, though, many
of those souls will refuse to be drawn or led.
Remember the old saying, “You
can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”? Well,
many souls will be lost to the eternal fires of hell
not because they are not drawn to heaven but because they refuse to
repent their wickedness, take up their
cross, and follow Christ. It’s that
simple.
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Woe to
you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your
midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, “Will
you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.” Whoever
listens to
you [1]
listens to Me. Whoever rejects you rejects Me. And whoever rejects Me rejects
the One who sent Me. |
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—Luke
10:13-16 |
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Notes
1. Jesus is speaking here to those “whom
He sent ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit”
(Luke 10:1). He is warning these missionaries of the
indifference and ingratitude they will encounter
from those who deny their own
wretchedness.
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