You have to write what people want to know.

What is it that people want to know?

That this is all worth something, that it’s leading somewhere good.

If all we had was what’s around us right now, there would be more people jumping off bridges.

I remember being one of those people, thinking that all we have is what’s around us right now. And I tried jumping off a few bridges (but really just to say “help me”).

“Write what people want to know.”

So what is it that you want to know?

The future?

If you knew you were destined for Hell no matter what you did, how would you live?

Would you indulge in every vice imaginable? Would you lie, cheat, steal, seduce, murder? You could be a politician.

But if you knew you were destined for Heaven no matter what you did, how would you live?

Would you also indulge in every vice imaginable?

God doesn’t want us to know our future. He wants us to understand consequences. The Bible is about consequences. You do this, this will follow. You do that, that will follow.

No-one gets a guaranteed ticket either to Hell or Heaven. If they did, imagine how they would live?

God keeps us guessing about our future after our time on Earth. Hope is a form of guessing. Faith is built around guessing positively.

What he doesn’t keep us guessing about, however, is the certainty of good consequences following good choices, and bad consequences following bad.

Even your thoughts can bring consequences. Pursue good thoughts, and good will follow; pursue bad thoughts, and bad will follow.

You are not responsible for the thoughts that come to your mind, but you are responsible for the thoughts that you entertain.

That’s a certainty.

Which is why Jesus said that even to think about adultery is to commit adultery. Thinking about something is the same as doing it, so the same consequences follow.

When bad thoughts come to mind, don’t pull up a chair for them and pour them a drink. Tell them to leave. Tell them you want nothing to do with them and they’re not welcome. Say it out loud if you have to.

The Bible is about consequences.

When you write, tell them that the only future they can know for sure is that good consequences follow good choices, and bad consequences follow bad.

That is the only future they need to know.

God will take care of the rest.