~ You ~

Hell will be an evil, dark, lonely place.

A place no one wants to be.

I’ll say it again but in future tense: “What will you do?”

***

I power down my Kindle and set it on the empty airplane seat beside me. I reach up and click off the solo light in the bulkhead above.

Well, that novel was certainly interesting. I’m glad my brother gave me an e-reader for my birthday, and it was great to see him this weekend, but I’m still irked that he uploaded this particular book on it. A book I promised him that I would read.

Adjusting the pillow behind my back, I investigate the darkness outside the airplane window, thirty thousand feet above somewhere in Kansas.

I detest these red-eye flights back to New York. Gives me too much time to think.

My brother’s last words to me in San Francisco were “Read the book; it only takes a few hours. It’s important. I love you lots.”

The book was readable and kept me engaged. But the ending was depressing. I hate books that end with no finality. Did Sarah live or die? If she lived, was she paralyzed for life? Did her parents or Silvia try contacting her? Did that Jeremy guy or Zoey come to her aid and rescue her? Or did she die and go to Hell? Did Denny and all those people suddenly appear again? Why couldn’t the author write that it was all a dream?

Then there’s a nagging thought lingering in my brain: the “you” in the book.

Every time Sarah mentions “you,” I felt as if she was talking to me, that I was right there with her, trying to help her sort things out and figure out what was happening around her. I felt like I had become a part of her, that I was the person accessing her brain via artificial intelligence. That I was inside her head.

Most disturbingly, it caught my attention those times she asked, “What would you do?” or the last time, “What will you do?”

I don’t know.

I have no clue what I would do.

I’m not like Sarah, one who hates God or her aunt-in-law or has issues with her husband and a guy potentially pining after her. I am different than her—I go through life not expecting a lot, and I manage those minor bumps in the road with little fanfare or drama.

However, I’m similar to Sarah in that I want to be in control. Doesn’t everyone, to some degree? I may not be exactly like her, but I can relate to her wanting life to go her way. Isn’t that a form of control? Don’t we all want to get what we desire? What we think we need and deserve?

Also, I don’t have any personal relationship with God or Jesus. Sure, I’ve heard Bible verses mentioned throughout my life, but I’ve largely taken no notice of them, never concentrating on what they might mean.

But what if—what if this Rapture thing were to happen right now while I’m on this airplane zipping across the country? What if the pilot disappears? What if I crash and die this minute? What will happen to me? Where will I go?

I gaze down at my empty hands folded in my lap. I have forgotten everything I have learned in Sunday school, the Bible stories in the Old Testament, and the most important story of how Jesus came to earth and became human, died on the cross, and rose on the third day. I’ve ignored them through the years. Pushed them off. The “I have no time for God now” approach to life.

Like Sarah, I admit I have a sense of emptiness. I think I have all the answers and go merrily along in life, yet I know inside I’m missing something important. Something transcendent. I feel like that right now. Deep inside, deep in my core. I turn it off over and over, yet it’s still there, pleading to get my attention.

Ah, I’ve been unsure about what I want in this world; I never thought to listen to anything beyond these mortal feelings.

Yes, I want to do everything by myself and believe only in myself.

I go on day by day, planning, scheming, and organizing.

Only to accomplish what?

Nothing.

Sure, I have goals, but what good are they if there’s no endgame?

No hereafter, no reason to be alive. Nothing.

There must be a God. Why would I be here? Is death the end of it?

If so, it makes life seem utterly meaningless.

Back to this novel. Was the “you” Sarah kept talking to meant to be me, or was it you, the reader holding this book now?

Or was the “You” someone else?

Could it be, You, God?

Is it You who I need?

Are You trying to get my attention?

Tears form in my eyes as I stare blankly at the back of the airline seat in front of me. I want to get out of my chair and move around, to escape, but I feel frozen in place. Something, Someone, is tugging inside me, at my heart, at the nucleus of my being.

Yes, I’m a sinful person. No one is perfect, not one person. Sinful thoughts, self-centered plans, a corrupted mindset. But I know deep inside that God is an eternal, loving God who can forgive me for everything I’ve done wrong. Everything.

For some reason, I start to cry.

God, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’ve ignored You all these years. I regret that I’m the one who thinks I’m in control. Please forgive me for my past, for my sins, for my selfishness. Only by Your grace and love can You cleanse me. Please come into my life and take over. Show me what You want to do with my life. Please, God, please take control of me.

I believe You died on the cross and shed Your blood many years ago, wiping out all my sins, every sin. You did it in my place, instead of me. And You rose again the third day. You did it for me. I don’t want to be untaken if the Rapture occurs right now. Thank You, God, thank You!

As I look up, tears of joy are now streaming down my face.

I no longer feel like those who weren’t taken in the story. God is now within me. He loves me, unconditionally! I didn’t have to do anything but believe in Him.

I honestly feel an inner peace—I feel rejuvenated, washed clean, whole. I feel God’s presence. It’s an ineffable peace!

This is what I want. This is what I need!

My brother was reading the Bible to me this morning, and it said:

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again . . . Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

This is what he was talking about—this novel is about the same thing. I remember he said the Bible uses the words “caught up” in the original Greek meaning “to seize, catch (away) up, pluck, pull, take (by force).” Some call it the Rapture today. Some believe it’ll happen before the Great Tribulation, when Jesus comes to earth to deal with Satan and those who don’t believe in Him.

He said the Tribulation is the world’s final seven years of God’s curses, punishments, and outpourings of His wrath. It’ll be unbelievable and frightening beyond our imaginations: earthquakes, famine, diseases, objects falling from the sky, death—how can that be? My brother said it’s all in the Bible for us to read.

But he said there’s an escape from this future event—if you believe in Christ, that He died for your sins on the cross and rose again, you’ll live eternally with Him. You’ll be taken up to Heaven with others who believe and be saved forever. It’s not about your works, what you try to do, but what Jesus has done on the cross for you.

I’d rather choose eternity with Him than outer darkness and pain forever, eternal life rather than eternal death.

For so long I’ve rejected His offer. Thinking I can do it alone. Thinking I don’t need God. Thinking I’m in control.

But now I’m a changed person!

I get it now! I’ve finally found the peace I’ve been searching for all these years.

Here’s the point: You and I are not in control. You and I are never in control. And you and I never want to be in control, either.

God is the One in control. Of everything.

Yes, I’m not untaken. God loves me unfathomably and unequivocally. Now I am fully assured that I’ll be taken in the Rapture.