Why would God's love suddenly "turn off" for the unregenerate at death?
922950
Outstanding question.  The first three answers address God not allowing "those that don't choose Him" to enter into his presence in heaven, but it doesn't address the eternal punishment issue.  What is wrong with letting alone those who don't accept God?  Why MUST they be dropped into the lake of fire?  If we're free to decide for ourselves, but choose to live moral lives without believing in a god, why should we be punished for using our free will?\n\nAdam: "[W]ith love comes judgment[.  W]hat is seriously so difficult about this[?]  [I]f you have a kid that bad mouths you from when he can speak, leaves you abandoned as you are old and feeble, but then at your death bed says 'Hey Pops, why Ain't I in your will, Don't you love me?'"\n\nWhat about the child who just wants to live his own life, who doesn't "badmouth dear old dad," but also doesn't care about inheriting anything?  He just wants to live a moral, useful, fulfilling life on his own.  "Pops" in your scenario isn't just leaving his son nothing in the will; he's having him sentenced to hard labor in a maximum security prison for life just because his son didn't stick around the house and praise him daily like Pop wanted.
811240
Hon, my heart breaks for you. You are noticing the destruction that sin does on one's life. You are missing the source of Life, Love, and Eternal Being. Please, turn to God, give Him your problems, pray for forgiveness repent of your sins He is faithful to answer you, if you are sincere.
891526
I know many women who've fallen into that trap - including myself.  If you are born again, you have a holy spirit; your spirit is holy.  If that man is not born again, he does not have a holy spirit.  This is why the Bible says that light has no fellowship with darkness.\n\nA woman who believes in Christ can have an unfavorable affect on a nice man who is not born again and inspire meanness that perhaps even he didn't know existed.  Why?  Because those who are born again are children of light (Ephesians 5:8 and 1 Thessalonians 5:5), and those who are not born again are darkness (Ephesians 5:8, 1 Peter 2:9, & 2 Corinthians 6:14).  So what ends up happening is a person walks along life's way in darkness not even aware that they are in darkness and in walks a person into their life who is light in the Lord.  If the 2 try and mingle as men and women mingle in marriage, then they have become one.  And if the person was happy in their darkness not wanting to change then with a believing person they are continually confronted by this light blaring into their spiritual eyes, and it is irritating, and major conflict is inevitable.\n\nIf you are weak and feeling drawn to this person, then the only thing for you to do if you sincerely want to avoid a life like this is cry out to God day and night until you are delivered from the temptation.  It wouldn't be called temptation if it wasn't so compelling and if the emotions being evoked didn't bring such a high.  When a person allows themselves to be carried away by a high like that, a crash is inevitable.  And hopefully you'll just take someone's word for it who's been there rather than go down that road yourself.  It takes a long time for a heart that's been busted into a gazillion pieces to be put back together, and it basically puts the plans and purposes of God for one's life on hold.\n\nI can tell you all day and all night long that it's not worth it.  It's for you to heed wisdom's cry:\n\nProverbs 9\n\nWisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars: \n\nShe has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine; she has also furnished her table. \n\nShe has sent forth her maidens; she cries upon the highest places of the city, \n\n"Whoso is simple, let him turn in here;" as for him who wants understanding she says to him, \n\n"Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. \n\nForsake the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding. \n\nHe who reproves a scorner gets to himself shame, and he who rebukes a wicked man gets himself a blot. \n\nReprove not a scorner lest he hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. \n\nGive instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. \n\nThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. \n\nFor by me your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased."\n\nIf you be wise, you shall be wise for yourself: but if you scorn, you alone shalt bear it. \n\nA foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple and knows nothing. \n\nFor she sits at the door of her house on a seat in the high places of the city, \n\nTo call passengers who go right on their ways: \n\n"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here," and as for him who wants understanding, she says to him, \n\n"Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." \n\nBut he knows not that the dead are there and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
47161
Considering the fact that the Bible tells us that we ARE souls, and not that we HAVE them, once you die, the soul dies. There is no other part within you that goes off somewhere at death.
188977
God IS Love! But as a whole, mankind has rejected God( and His love). \n\nGod DOES NOT send people to hell. He's not willing for ANY to perish. He's simply waiting for you to ask. Is that really so hard!
893226
Those who are dead cannot communicate.  By Christian teachings those that are dead do not ascend to Heaven until the Second Coming.  Until then, they're dead.
966219
Yeah, it's interesting, if you think about it. God can find a lover for some random lady in Oklahoma but he can't (or won't, whatever) prevent or stop disasters. Some crazy lady came on here earlier and tried to say that God DELIBERATELY didn't do anything about the Holocaust, because the Jews were wrong about Christ. Seriously, that kind of logic makes me shudder.
86168
Wow, that's probably the most blatant blasphemy I've ever heard. The reason God turned his back on His Son for that brief moment was because Jesus was carrying sins of the world (past, present, and future - yours included!) on Himself, and God cannot be in the presence of sin - it's contrary to His perfect nature. Yes, it's a mystery that I won't understand completely until I get to heaven, but it's also what makes the plan of salvation so beautiful. Jesus was willing to momentarily sacrifice his relationship with His own father so that we could have eternal life. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, making us perfect in the sight of God if we accept His sacrifice and put our faith in Him. The agony of Jesus's separation from His Father was what prompted Him to cry out "Father, why have you forsaken Me?" Jesus already knew the answer - it was rhetorical.
440161
This life is no game...not to God and it sure shouldn't be to us.\nYou have it wrong...God gave you a choice because he loves you. He could of created a vass number of robots...made to serve Him, but that's not what he wanted. He wanted you to love and serve Him by choice.
153142
Being a Christian I'm sure you hear a lot of stuff that says it is against gods will.  However they think about religion is that you have to look more at its roots and realize that while it has a good base, it has been misconstrude over the years to fit what people want it to say.  At its roots it says that you should love everyone.  If it was against gods will for you to love someone of the same sex would he allow you to feel that way?  Wouldn't he make it so there was some dire consequence like death?  All religions preach love as being one of the most important things there is.  If you love another person of the same sex, that is simply who you are and who you have found love with.  There is nothing wrong with love.
1133102
You are Blessed to know god. Some are not Gods own for some reason they choose to go through life in limbo. But remember God loved you first, and we cannot  change any one, but our self ,but God can. He changed me. So keep praying for the salvation of many souls.
854970
I tried to do the same thing. It never worked. After I gave up this happened to me.\n\n\nSeveral years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away. \n\nWhile driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.\n\nThree days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to. \n\nI feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.\nDuring the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible. \n\nI can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.\n\n I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings. \n\nYour brother don
854737
Aparently something because this happened to me.\n\nSeveral years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away. \n\nWhile driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.\n\nThree days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to. \n\nI feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.\nDuring the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible. \n\nI can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.\n\n I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings. \n\nYour brother don
334824
God does not have any pleasure in the death of the wicked. God is known for His tender mercies and compassions. God states that the soul that sins, dies. God's law is love and His Gospel is peace. In Ezekiel 18:21-23 states that if a person who was previously sinning and decides to give up their evil ways and turn wholeheartedly to God, God promises that person full salvation from their sins no matter how bad or deeply rooted in the heart. Because of Christ and His shed blood, the sin of a sinner is no longer imputed or held against that person and God no longer remembers them. Deuteronomy was written before Christ's arrival so there was not an abundance of the mercies of God back then that we now experience through Christ's grace now. It was pretty much the "eye for an eye" sort of thing going on. Christ on Calvary made the Old Testament and its antiquated laws null and void by the power of His shed blood.
324332
Yes. You see, in order to die, he had to fully become mortal, and in becoming mortal, we forget our true divine nature.  Thus, he forgot that he was god and he died.  The Bible is a great novel, isn't it?
850444
The main factor I am not seeing in your analysis is that God gave us all free will. God wants us to choose to love him. If we were forced to love God, would that be love at all? Free will factors in all aspects of life. Your positive and negative experiences that you attribute to god favoring you with blessing, or punishing you, could be the results of someone else imposing their free will upon you. This is why in the Bible we are told to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. As not to impose our free will upon them and effect them in a negative manner. It sounds like you are struggling with some very important spiritual dilemmas, I will pray for you and I wish you the best.
79087
God is Loving, God is All-Powerful, and yet He allows suffering.  Since the Fall of Adam, sin and death have been in the world.  Until the new earth (Rev 21:4) when 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain', it will be so. \n\nAs others mentioned, the climatic picture of His Son's suffering for the elect is a stirring reminder that He controls all things, that God's Son Suffered at the hand of His Father who was pleased to crush Him (Is 53), that God Himself endured the worst pain of all time, and used that public display to define love: 1John4:9-10 'This is love : not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins'.\n\nGod is most glorified when we are most dependent on Him, so He weans us from the many things that displace Him in our lives.  That is love.  Love divine, all loves excelling (hymned Wesley), the romance of Biblical Christianity.\n\nRom 8:28-29  'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.'