I think of heaven and hell as follows:

God welcomes those into the perfect paradise who have faithfully striven to follow the good path by turning their back on evil and making reparation for whatever grave sins they commit. In truth these people are already in paradise in the sense that they have, in small or big ways, already brought heaven to their lives and others' lives. It is the paradise-makers who will inherit paradise in the afterlife.

If this is true, then it only follows that the reverse be true also; God will not welcome those who have turned their backs on the good path and who have failed through their own fault to turn from or repent for their wrongdoing. These people do not bring paradise to others; they are primarily and intentionally self-centered and use others for their own gain. These people are not allowed in paradise not because God does not love them, but for the simple fact that heaven cannot be paradise if such people are present.

Death is the final fork in the road. The direction we take is determined by what path our actions in life have placed us on, not insomuch by the judgment of God - despite this being the way Scripture views it. (In this sense I see Scripture's description of the judgment as being too primitive to grasp the fullness of the truth.)

Since all of us at some point or another dip our toes into the path of good, as long as we keep one foot firmly planted on the good road, God will pull us back. (This is the fairness of God as described in Scripture; God makes allowances for our stumblings, and if we faithfully desire to be good he will supply the necessary goodness. This is the formula for Salvation.)

But some of us also tread more than fleetingly into dark paths. Though they are technically within God's reach, God will not reach his hand to pull back those who are decidedly on these paths. (This, too, is fair. God allows us to choose our own path, and if we turn from goodness he will not hold us back.)

I suppose it is not altogether incorrect to call this "judgment," because it is true that God is really ultimately responsible for lending a hand for those he saves, since we all are in need of at least a small pull back to the good path. But we faithfully believe that God decides such things in accordance with our hearts, that the judgment is simply God responding to the truth.

Heaven is communion with God and the people of God.

Hell is the absence of God. I have my suspicions that the reason hell is eternal is because those who set themselves on that path are so far retreated into themselves that they are no longer aware of the dignity of others. And, in the absence of God, for them to achieve awareness of that dignity would be beyond their grasp. Those in hell would be, for all intents and purposes, completely alone, and so without opportunity to do good or to make reparation for misdeeds.