how can heaven be bliss if your family or friends are burning in hell?

Question

would it not be selfish to ignore them, or forget them? id rather burn in hell with my family then go to heaven under those terms.

Answer 1

It is a painful truth, but truth it is. There will be loved ones in Hell. Since we are promised that there will be no tears in Heaven and also the example Jesus gave on marriage we can guess that we will have a different view on those with us and not. We may even "forget" them entirely.

Below I chose two verses that I believe illustrate this point.

Matthew 12
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."[g]

48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother


Luke 9:58-62


58Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."


59He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."


60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."


61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."


62Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."


Family is indeed important, but nothing supersedes your salvation or helping others find it. I would hope that you would start with your family and friends. But, even with out them only a fool would desire hell where they will still be apart from them.

Answer 2

Great minds think alike ... I asked this same question from a Christian site and here is the answer I got back;

Question: As the bible hints we have memories whether we end up in heaven or hell (the story of Lazurus and the rich man in Luke 16 shows that the people in Hades knew each other and we will all be held accountable for all we have done or said) If you have unsaved family/friends, how can you rejoice in heaven knowing your loved ones are in hell forever?

Answer: When we arrive in Heaven, we will not have anything to complain about or be saddened by. Revelation 21:4 tells us, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” If some of our loved ones are not in Heaven, we will be in 100% complete agreement that they do not belong there – that they are condemned by their own refusal to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior (John 3:16; John 14:6). It is hard to understand this, but we will not be saddened by the lack of their presence. Our focus should not be on how we can enjoy Heaven without all of our loved ones there, but rather on how we can point our loved ones to faith in Christ – so that they will be there.

Answer 3

I think because when Judgement Day comes, God's judgement will be seen to be fair and there will be no argument against it. God cannot be capricious.

Like it or not, each of us are given a choice of where we spend eternity.

If, in some small way, I can plant a seed for the Holy Spirit to grow, among family and friends I pray that I don't shirk in doing it.
I remember standing in front of my church family choking up in tears telling them that there wasn't a one of them I wouldn't want to see in heaven. And that's just how I feel. But, given the choice I don't want to burn in hell with my family. I still want to be in Heaven. Selfish? Maybe, but I have to realize not all are going to choose Christ.

That's the painful reality of it. I guess I'm going to have to trust in God's comfort.

Answer 4

It might be hard, but would you want your family and friends to live in a perfect world with God, feeling EXTREMELY guilty that they don't deserve to be in His presence? Have you ever felt that you just wanted to hide, like you didn't want to face someone because you knew you were in the wrong? Imagine that feeling a magnified to a degree that we probably can't comprehend too well. The Lord isn't happy to see any of us suffer, and he knows that our family and friends will be happier where they are.


Now, please note this: I do not believe in only a heaven and a hell where everyone burns for eternity. My belief system is a tad more complicated than that... But in the end, only a few are going to suffer for eternity. Your family and friends may not make it to God's kingdom, but they will have a kingdom.

Answer 5

Then I suggest you give your life to GOD, become an example of CHRIST, pray for and lead your family and friends to salvation so you can all rejoice with the LORD in heaven instead of joining the Bar B Que in hell as you will be the main course. And so you will know, GOD says if we know and do not warn others then we will be held accountable for their lost souls. How would you feel to realize that you did not do all you could to keep them out of hell and find out you are responsible.

Answer 6

That is a challenging question. Most people have huge challenges with this but the bottom line is that you can't know anyone else's heart for sure but your own as far as your relationship with God goes. He's the judge not us - he sees our hearts. There will be alot of people where they said they were believers who you will not see in heaven either. Some people get to a place in life where their relationship with God through Jesus Christ becomes so fulfilling and good that even family takes a second seat to following Him. You'll be too busy worshipping Him and enjoying his presence to worry about such things - and this world compared to the one to come is like comparing a grain of sand to the size of the whole universe - it's way beyond what we can comprehend. People who love the Lord realize that they can't understand it all now and that's okay.

Answer 7

If you are really worried about heaven then you live a solid testimony so that your friends and family will want what you have. People see the joy and peace that others have when they are living for God and they want it for themselves. And believe, when we are in God's glory, we won't be worried about them. All we will want to do is worship the lord. God is Holy beyond the understanding of people. Like in the bible, when God's glory fell on Moses all he could do is fall to the ground and worship him.


BTW, God's word says that you and your household shall be saved, and God's word does not come back void.

Answer 8

The explanation I've always heard is that when you're in heaven, God supposedly makes you forget about your friends and family that are in hell. I have no idea why some people are apparently OK with that thought.

Answer 9

You are assuming that the constructs of heaven and hell are real. Think outside the box for once. At any rate, live you life in the now, put your questions to better use. Are you making a difference today? What is your legacy?

Answer 10

Dont be so sure. Hell is the worst thing ever in existence and you have control over where YOU go, you cant control anybody else. People will go to Heaven of hell based on their own choices and some people have already made up their minds and will never change. It is unfortunate when you have a family member that denies the truth, but I love God more than any of them and that is the kind of relationship we should have with God. If you love your family more than God then you arent anywhere near ready for Heaven.