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Everybody Wants Heaven...
11/23/2012

I’ve been to quite a few funerals over the years and one thing I’ve never seen is someone being eulogized with the plain and simple truth: “Actually, John was a miserable drunk who hated everyone, and hated God most of all. I have no doubt John is now burning in Hell for eternity.”

People don’t say things like that because we want to believe that somehow, in spite of what our own consciences tell us, our loved ones as well as ourselves will somehow end up in Heaven after we die. So we eulogize people like “John” by ignoring the obvious and over-focusing on the few good points we might find about him: “John loved his family and friends and did his best to be a good friend, good father, and good husband. I have no doubt he has found the peace that often eluded him in this life.”
 
We don’t want to be too hard on the dead because we don’t want people to be too hard on us when we die. And we will die.
 
Religious people are often remembered for their devotion to their religion. Many people hope their religion will convince God to allow them into Heaven. So they’ll make sure they do the basic required elements of their religion. Maybe that’s showing up once a week for a mandatory religious service. Or maybe it requires knocking on doors to tell others about their religion. Or it could be rattling off the same prayer over and over, thinking God will hear them due to their many words (Matthew 6:7). Whatever it is, they’ll do it because they’ve been told they’ll be guaranteed Heaven by doing these things. The rest of the time they may live just like the rest of the world. But their religious devotion convinces them that it’s ok because they’ve “earned” Heaven already.
 
Some people think because they were “raised in a Christian home” or because they “prayed the sinner’s prayer” they also can be assured of Heaven when they die.
 
Actually, very few people think they’re not good enough to get to Heaven. In fact, if you ask people where they’d like to go after they die the vast majority will say Heaven. Why? Very few people want to consider any other possibility such as Hell.
 
What’s Heaven Like?
 
Seeing that so many people want to go there maybe we should take a brief look at what Heaven actually is. The Bible tells us quite a few things about Heaven which makes it very appealing. It’s the place where God has set up His throne and from where He rules over the entire world (Psalm 103:19). You can see that Heaven is a Kingdom as it has a King who lives there (Matthew 3:17; 6:9).
 
It’s a place where there is no death, no sorrow, no tears, no suffering or pain (Revelation 21:4). It’s a place where there is no night and where there is no sin (Revelation 21:25; 22:5). It’s a place where every living creature will live in harmony with every other creature (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25).
 
It’s the place where God will dwell with His people (Revelation 21:3). And that’s where the problem comes in.
 
But Nobody Wants God…
 
God’s Word tells us that no one seeks after God (Psalm 14:2-4; Romans 3:10-12). No one cares what God thinks about anything because we’re too busy making ourselves happy (2 Timothy 3:2-5). Yet we expect God to just overlook the fact that we won’t even give Him the time of day in this life.
 
While driving with my wife a song came on the radio that caught my attention. One specific line of that song went: “I don’t want to go to Heaven if I can’t get in.” Most people probably miss the significance of that line, but it explains the exact problem that all people have: they want to go to Heaven on THEIR terms. And if they can’t, then like spoiled little brats, they don’t want to go at all. Sadly, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for most people. And the only alternative to Heaven is Hell.
 
The simple truth is that Heaven itself is part of the gift that God gives to us when we come to Him on His terms. It’s not something we can earn by “being good” or practicing our religion. Neither is it something that can be negotiated for. We either meet the conditions that God has set and then receive it as a free gift, or we don’t.
 
The conditions that God has set are really quite simple and they all involve His Son. In John 14:6 Jesus said that no one can come to the Father (God) except by coming through Jesus Himself. We do this by repenting of the sins we’ve been committing against God and then put our faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). We then change our lifestyle to show everyone around us – including God – that we really do desire to serve Him and then spend eternity with Him in Heaven (Matthew 5:3, 16; Acts 26:20). It’s all by God’s grace and then we become His servants (Ephesians 2:8-10).
 
You can either hope that somehow you’ll manage to “sneak” into Heaven which ultimately leads to eternal damnation in Hell (Revelation 21:7-8). Or you can “make your calling and election sure” by agreeing with God that you really are a sinner on your way to Hell and that you need and want Jesus to be your Lord (Acts 16:30-31; 2 Peter 1:10). That ultimately means eternal life in Heaven with God.
 
The choice is up to you.

 



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