OK, so?  They're absolutely blocking out God's love, and that's what produces this effect on them ... despite the fact that physical metaphors fall short of describing it. 


[ . . . ]

Another metaphor that I use is that some find bliss in listening to classical music.  Others, however, if they're asked to listen to classical music, say, in music class in school, find it abhorrent, are crawling out of their skin with boredom and disgust, can't wait to get out of there, etc.  It's the same music, but it causes one happiness and another unhappiness and pain.  It's the same music, but different listeners.

OK, so?  They're absolutely blocking out God's love, and that's what produces this effect on them ... despite the fact that physical metaphors fall short of describing it.  But you have to get your mind around the basic fact that God doesn't differ or change depending on who He's looking at or thinking of or interacting with.  God is the same, and so that same God Whom some experience as love, happiness, and peace, others experience as wrathful (even though He's the same God and is no different).  Another metaphor that I use is that some find bliss in listening to classical music.  Others, however, if they're asked to listen to classical music, say, in music class in school, find it abhorrent, are crawling out of their skin with boredom and disgust, can't wait to get out of there, etc.  It's the same music, but it causes one happiness and another unhappiness and pain.  It's the same music, but different listeners.

There was the story of a saint who saw hell and pleaded with God to let a soul out of Hell.  So God did so and put the soul in Heaven.  That soul absolutely hated it there, couldn't stand it.  So the saint asked God to at least put the soul in Purgatory.  At that point the soul complained that it was neither here nor there and felt ill at ease.  So God then responded by letting the soul pick where he wanted to go.  And the soul dove right back into Hell.  It's ultimately where he wanted to be.  No one goes to Hell who doesn't choose to go there.  To extend my analogy with the music, some people can't get enough of wild parties, loud music, drugs, impurity, etc.  It's all they think about, partying.  For those of us with our sensibilities, the thought of spending even a minute at one of these parties is repugnant.  So they choose what they want, and we choose what we want.