come Heaven or Hell.

My grandfather died a few hours ago. Four, to be precise.

With grandparents, you know that at some point, the call will come. I'm not trying to be morose, but everyone dies, and as the closest family member (the rest of them live 10 hours away), I knew it was coming. "Ash, he died. Can you go be with her? We're on our way."

That's actually exactly how it happened.

So I got in my car, and en route to Hancock, MO, my faith became violently real. At mile marker 104 I remembered that my grandfather does not claim Christ. In fact, he has always been fairly antagonistic towards Christianity. Then the panic hit.

But wait...

If he never accepted Christ. And he just died. Does that mean...?

Now I will tell you that no close family member or friend has died since I accepted Christ, and so I have never prayed before like I prayed tonight. I'm all up on the phone to God, like "Isn't there ANYTHING You can do?!?"

Then I'm back-pedaling. "Do I actually believe that those who have not accepted Christ's sacrifice and come to Him for life will in fact live in Hell?" I'm in my car thinking how crazy that is. Then I'm thinking that it's crazy, sure, but true in my heart, and logical in my mind.

The next moment, I'm looking at this gorgeous skyline of trees and stars in the Missouri countryside, and knowing that though I cannot bear the thought of eternal punishment for someone I love, God loves me, and He loves my grandfather, and whatever happened at the moment of passing, no one felt its impact more deeply than God. Because no one loved my grandfather more than God did. And that, come Heaven or Hell, is greatly comforting.

In the end, Christ absorbs it all, doesn't He? Our sin, our worry, our pain...

I pray that tonight, He absorbs the pain of a grieving family (and selfishly, the wonder of a questioning Christian), and turns it to His good, to His glory.