“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. No one who believes in him will be condemned, but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God`s only Son.” (Jn. Ch,3)
In a secular age, God is as less obvious to most people as he was more obvious to most people 500 hundred years ago. As believers how do we cope with this? How do we cope most of all with a God of love condemning people to eternal punishment? How do we interpret the raised crucifix on Good Friday? Is Jesus reaching out in love, or is he saying you will pay for this? Most people today don`t hear Jesus saying anything to them; as time goes on they know less and less about him, and life here is much better for them than it was for people five hundred years ago, and if their lives are brief, at least eternal punishment doesn`t come into the picture.
How would you persuade them that things are otherwise?