I wish I could write it all across the world: there are only two things you’re taking to heaven. Everything else is going to burn. It’s a stark truth.
The first thing: Character.
You’re not going to switch from a creep to a saint the minute Jesus comes. You’re just not. Yes, your physical body will change, and be completely remade whole. But God made your personality, and if you choose to squander that, there’s nothing He will do to change you.
The truth of the matter is, if you’re a grouch here on earth, you’d be a grouch in heaven too. God isn’t going to force you to become cheerful so you’ll like it in heaven. (Logically speaking, grouches don't actually exist in heaven.)
The second thing: Converts.
Imagine your first moments in heaven. You can hardly believe that you’re really there, in all the glories of that celestial land. The mansions in the city are like nothing you ever dreamed of; the streets are paved with gold; the tree of life is a shimmering color like no one’s ever seen; the sea really looks like it’s made of crystal.
Then Jesus appears beside you. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” He says, a smile dancing across His lips. Suddenly they walk up, the person you cried over and prayed over and hoped over. They’re really here!
“There’s an extra star on your crown, because you let your light shine for Me,” Jesus says. “Thank you for all the tears you cried, all the prayers you prayed, all the hopes you held.”
And suddenly there’s another, and another, and another… People that you’d always hoped would be here. People you had done your best to reach, but finally had to give over to God with tears in your eyes and prayers in your heart, because you had done all you could. They’re all here.
I’ll tell you a little secret: The way to get a character like Jesus is to pour out your life for converts.
Dear reader, nothing else in this world is going to make it. There won’t be chocolate in heaven. There won’t be burritos, or phones or xboxes, cars, houses, or any of the things we value here. No. None of that. I’m sure you’ve heard the parable of the man who took gold bars with him to heaven – only to find that it was just pavement there.
This world is not our home. The things we have here should exist for one purpose: character or converts. Anything else is grasping for the wind.
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
James 1:27
What are you taking to heaven?
Σχόλια