Rejecting the Lord

[Col. 4:10-18; Luke 10:1-15] Will there be such indulgence in the other world toward those who do not accept the Lord as He showed toward those living on the earth? No, there will not be. Sending “the seventy” to preach, the Lord com­ manded them, that they when they are not received, they should say on the crossroads: Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwith­ standing, be ye sure of this, that the Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. That is, we do not need any­ thing of yours — not with self-inter­ est do we walk and preach, but for the proclamation unto you of peace and the Kingdom of God. If you do not want to receive this good — as you like; we will go on. Thus it was commanded for the present time; but how will it be in the future? It shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. There­ fore, it is useless for unbelievers to hope for the Lord’s indulgence. While on the earth they only do as they like; but as soon as death comes, the entire storm of God’s wrath will come down on them. It is great unhappiness to be as the un­ believers! They do not even have joy on the earth, because without God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer, even here all is dismal and dreary; what will be there is impossible to describe in words or to imagine. It would be more tolerable to be destroyed, but even that will not be given to them.

Saint Theophan the Recluse