"Don't Miss Heaven"
I recently spent the weekend with some friends and attended church with them on Sunday. The pastor’s wife, Debbie, had just passed away after a long struggle with cancer. As the pastor came up and began to share with the congregation some of the details of the last moments of his wife’s life, his sadness over the loss was obvious. But he also wanted to make it clear that they were celebrating. She was home now, in heaven, with Jesus. Debbie knew where she was going, and the rest of the family could rejoice in the fact that they would see her again someday. The pastor urged us to make things right and be sure that we, too, are ready. As he stood there with tears in his eyes, he said, “Friends, don’t miss heaven.”
I was reading Revelation 21 and 22 a few days ago and wondered why anyone would not want to choose to spend eternity in the place described in these last chapters. “There will be no more death or mourning or crying…” (21:4) “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light…” (21:23) “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.” (22:3-4) It seems so clear to me. Our alternate choice to spend eternity is described in Luke 16 in the account of the rich man and Lazarus as a place of torment. When the rich man saw Lazarus by Abraham’s side he begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to his home to tell his brothers. “Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment,” he said.
I wonder if people are aware that when they reject Christ as their personal Savior, they are actually choosing hell. Do they even know that God has prepared an eternal home in heaven, specifically for them, if only they would accept Him? That makes me wonder if we are doing our job as Christians, telling our loved ones who are lost about Christ. Telling them what He did on the cross for us and that He wants to spend eternity with us in heaven. I know that I don’t want my friends and family who are lost to miss heaven. But am I doing my part to tell them about Christ? It isn’t enough to make sure we don’t miss heaven, we have to tell others. “Nothing impure will ever enter it… but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Rev 21:27)
- Jenni Brummel