Why would a loving God make a place like Hell to send all the "bad" people to?

I have been asked two questions over and over again. 

1. Why would a loving God make a place like Hell to send all the "bad" people to? 

2. How could God send "good people" to Hell?

It is possible that you have asked these questions from time to time. I assure you there are answers to these questions.  Both of them have a similar answer.

Let's start with the first one.

Question 1: Why would a loving God make a place like Hell to send all the "bad" people to?

Answer: He didn't.  

He didn't make Hell to send all the bad people to.  He made Hell as a place of punishment for Satan and his demons.  He only wants Satan and his demons to go there. He does not want you (or anyone else) to be there. 

More on that in a minute.

Question 2 : How could God send good people to Hell?

Answer: It is not his choice.  It is theirs.

Let's say you are on a high skyscraper, and you look over and see a fireman on a ladder outside the window.  You open the window and the fireman says that the bottom five floors are engulfed in flames and the building could collapse at any minute.  The fireman says he has to stay on the ladder in order to keep it steady in the wind.  He tells everyone to come over to him and he will help them go down the ladder.

Everyone in that room has a choice.

1. There are people that might say "I don't see any fire, and I don't smell any smoke.  I don't believe there is a fire.  I am going to keep doing what I am doing."
2. Then there might be people who say: "Ok I believe there is a fire, but I don't believe the fireman is the only way to safety.  I am going to use the stairs and find my own way out."
3. Then there might be people who say: "Ok I believe there is a fire, but let me get my things together first."
4. Then there are going to be the people who say: "I trust you, fireman."

The first and second groups are going to die because they won't even attempt to trust the fireman.

The third group might have time to trust the fireman, but there are no guarantees.  The building could collapse at any moment.    

The last group are the only ones who have a guarantee of making it.

The fireman wants to save everyone. It is not his choice. It is theirs. 

To answer both questions with one answer.

God wants everyone to escape Hell.  That is why he sent only His son, Jesus. Jesus paid the punishment for our sins, he is the ultimate firefighter.  He knew we wouldn't be able to pay the price, so he came to earth, lived a sinless life and died for us.  He is waiting for you to come to him.

Jesus has paid the price, he is holding out the gift of eternal life in Heaven.  All you have to do is accept it.

It is as easy as A B C.

A.               Admit – Admit you are a sinner, and have done things wrong.

B.               Believe – Believe that Jesus, who is God’s son, died and rose again.

C.               Confess – Confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you and to come into your life and take           you to Heaven when you die. 

That’s it.  God doesn't want you to go to Hell.  He wants to save everyone.  It is your choice.

God cares about stuffed animals?

Parents this one is for you.

It is a post from a guy by the name of Karl Bastian. He is the founder of Kidology.org, a website devoted to helping those people who are called to minister to kids.

So without further ado here is Karl.

How do you teach your children that God answers prayer? It's simple, right? You challenge them to pray about their needs and concerns.

Then it happens. Your son loses his beloved "Charlie" dog. So he prays for it to be found and returned. We think it was left at school. All weekend we wait... Monday morning... boy's "best friend" is not there. The house, yard, and everywhere else has been searched. The dog appears to be lost for good. Then comes a distant memory... lunch at Chick-fil-A middle of last week... would they save a well-loved stuffed animal for a week, even if it was left there? Dad calls, turns out, there is a brown dog that for "some reason" they decided to hang on to. "It just seemed loved."

It wasn't until I showed up at school with Luke, dog in arm, that I learned from Luke's tearful teacher that he said just the day before the dog was found, "I'm thankful for God because I prayed and He is going to return my dog to me." I felt relieved that God had answered his prayer. Why? Because I doubt? Is my faith weaker than that of my son? While my prayers were hopeful, his were matter-of-fact.

If God cares about stuffed dogs and the simple prayer of a five-year-old for something as "unimportant" as a brown stuffed dog, what am I hesitant to ask for?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! - Matthew 7:11