Day 27
Throughout my circle of friends, family and neighbors, many tears are being shed this week. With the news of of 5 deaths including my mother-in-laws, it seems as if my world is being surrounded by sorrow.
This is a difficult post for me to write, because I know it’s a subject that most people don’t want to talk about, but I feel compelled to share some truths. It’s in complete love, and in all absence of judgement or righteousness. If I offend anyone it’s OK, as long as this messages touches at least one heart; even if it doesn’t, I need to go to where I feel I’m being led.
The Truth
The truth is that there IS life beyond this earthly span of time that is riddled with love, joy, peace, hatred, pain, suffering, illness………etc. Not only is there life, but it’s eternal (like in forever). Most people that I know agree – and most are certain they’re going to heaven – usually for a reason that goes something like:
- I’m a good person
- I go to church every week (every Christmas, every Easter……)
- I believe in God
- A loving God wouldn’t send me to hell
It makes me so sad to know people are thinking this way, and I hope to point you to some truths that you may have never heard. Let me begin by assuming that if you believe in heaven, you believe in God. And if you believe in God, you believe in the Bible.
The Bible is comprised of 2 books; the Old Testament – which focuses on laws and salvation through works of the flesh, and the New Testament – which introduces the Good News. It is here that we learn that God’s ultimate desire is for us to be in relationship with him, through his son Jesus Christ. And that our eternal salvation is a gift given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus, who took on human flesh and suffered humiliation, torture, and an excruciating death – all to pay the debt for our sins.
In reality, there is nobody on this planet that will ever get into heaven by following the rules or by being a good person. The law was handed down to us to prove that we were incapable of keeping it. Consider Romans 3:9-20 (New International Version quoted below):
No One Is Righteous
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.
13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. “The poison of vipers is on their lips.
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Acceptance is Key
If I were to get you a gift but you never received it, the gift would have been purchased in vain. This is where a lot of people, and many religions, go sideways. They don’t understand that they are called to Accept the gift. It’s the act of repenting of your sin, welcoming Jesus Christ into your life and into your heart, and making him the lord of your life. It changes the way you think and act, and it changes your priorities. It assures you that you’ll spend eternity with him, not because you deserved it but because Jesus paid the price for your ticket to heaven, and you’ve made a conscious decision to follow him.
If you’ve never heard this message of hope – the greatest news of all time, I would advise you to find a Bible-based church. It may take some time and effort. Not all churches preach the truth, so you’ll have to do your own due diligence to make sure that what they are teaching is in line with the Bible.
Please don’t put this on the “back burner”. It can’t wait….
In love,
