Well I'm thinking that God would never let us be burdened with such knowledge and that there is only joy and peace once we reach heaven. I wouldn't personally say this callously or with disregard, but if you have someone that you loved that didn't make it to heaven, i don't believe that you will be mourning them or aware of their absence and suffering.
Quote:
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
|
To me that is a bit of a clue that we won't have heavy baggage of guilt and sadness for those not with us in heaven. I personally believe in purgatory also and that people have to actually "choose" to go to hell. (And when i say choose to go, i don't mean you just casually decide at the last moment)... i mean you choose to believe or not to believe, you choose to do good or do bad, and you choose whether or not you want to follow God's path or not...
I don't have children myself, but if I did I usually put it into that type of perspective. If I knew my kids loved me and were good kids leading good lives (ie they asked for forgiveness and were genuinely sorry for the times they made mistakes), then of course I would want to reward them. As they mess up along the way, of course there is some type of punishment (ie purgatory). If they were living their lives in a destructive and hateful way then unfortunately I would probably need to distance myself from them. I always kind of figured that is how God deals with us (since we are His children after all).
As far as exactly how God handles the situation of one family member in heaven, one in hell or equivalent I really don't know the specifics obviously... I just have enough faith to know He's got it all sorted out one way or another.
Are you sorry you asked?