Most people who believe in an afterlife plan to live in Heaven! I've met a few fools who say, "I want to be in Hell. It's where all my friends are!" Further discussion reveals their ignorance of the true nature of an eternity without God. There won't be any wild parties in Hell, nothing of fun, joy, or pleasure. Jesus describes Hell as an awful place of torment. I think that there is ample reason to believe in a place apart from God where the greatest pain is not a physical one, nor one of burning torture; but rather as longing for fulfillment with absolutely no satisfaction. Hell will be, I believe, the ultimate realization of a life lived for selfish purposes, a life without love or worship.
One poll reports that when Americans were asked about eternity, 55% said they were certain they would go to Heaven. An additional 35% hoped that they would go there. Only 4% said they would be going to Hell and 6% said they didn't believe in Heaven or Hell. It's not my business to make the determination about who will spend eternity in God's Presence! I am sure thankful for that. But, I am concerned that many who think they are going there are mistaken because they have not prepared properly.
They might take the this news note online as a little parable.
It made me laugh and it made me think about being prepared!
O'Brien Middle School in Reno, Nevada, lined up four buses to take its top students to Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California. It's a four-hour bus ride from the school. The students arrived at the park on Monday only to find out the park was closed. A school district spokesman says, "It was pretty much a fiasco." School officials are refunding the kids' money, and the tour bus company says it will pick up the tab for the next trip. The principal says somebody should have checked. - RENO, Nev. (AP)
I wonder after a long life journey how many will find the way to Heaven closed because they never prepared, never paid attention to the Holy Spirit's call? Tragically most Americans who claim to be Christians are woefully ignorant about what the Bible has to say about spending all of eternity with the Lord. They are living with false hope, unprepared for the most important transition of their entire lives!
When asked why they think they are going to Heaven, about 60% of us say, "Because I'm basically a good person." The truth is that basically we are rebels, self-willed, who readily set aside God's plans and purposes to do what we want to do. That doesn't mean we're all mass murderers, or wildly promiscuous, or big-time bad guys. We're just ordinary sinners, people who are in the grip of fallen human natures, that love self more than God; who gossip, fight, grab stuff for ourselves, and live to satisfy our appetites. The declaration of the Word is, "All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory."
Another 10-15% of Americans think that they are going to Heaven because they are religious. They point to church attendance, or a good faith effort to keep the 10 Commandments, etc. as the reason that they will be in Heaven. Once again they are ignorant about what the Bible has to say. If religion is our hope, we embrace God's standard - which is - absolute purity. Who among us can lay claim to perfection except those deep into self-deception? No amount of goodness can offset the sin that lurks in our hearts.
Here's the Good News. We can know that we're going to Heaven! We don't have to wait for the Final Judgment, for some imaginary set of scales that weighs our 'good' and 'bad' deeds. We can anticipate an eternal home with God with certainty. God has made an agreement (the Bible calls it a covenant) that is based in His mercy, His gracious gift, not on our human efforts.
It is explained in Ephesians 2 where we read:
It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. . . . It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.
Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ.
He did all this on his own, with no help from us! . . . Saving is all his idea, and all his work.
All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves.
God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. Ephesians 2:1-10 (The Message)
The best part of all this isn't some big house on a golden boulevard (as so many caricature Heaven because they misunderstand Biblical metaphors!) It is being in the Presence of God, able to know and love Him without hindrance, without the limitations that our present existence imposes on us. I am already enjoying Heaven! No, I haven't died yet, but Heaven is implanted in my heart and mind. I commune with God, enjoying the fullness of life that the Spirit brings to me. In that I have a foretaste of heaven and I'm drawn to live a life that pleases God, so that when my eyes close in death, there will be no surprises, for my Savior will say, "Hi, friend. Welcome home, forever!"
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O, heaven is in my heart,
O, heaven is in my heart.
The kingdom of our God is here,
Heaven is in my heart.
The presence of His majesty,
Heaven is in my heart.
And in His presence joy abounds,
Heaven is in my heart.
The light of holiness surrounds,
Heaven is in my heart.
His precious life on me He spent,
Heaven is in my heart.
To give me life without an end,
Heaven is in my heart.
In Christ is all my confidence,
Heaven is in my heart.
The hope of my inheritance,
Heaven is in my heart.
We are a temple for His throne,
Heaven is in my heart.
And Christ is the foundation stone,
Heaven is in my heart.
He will return to take us home,
Heaven is in my heart.
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"
Heaven is in my heart.
© 1991 Make Way Music
(Admin. by Music Services) Graham Kendrick CCLI License No. 810055
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