“How many of you would like to go to heaven?”
“How many of you would like to go to heaven?” Everyone’s hand shot up except the little boy’s. So the pastor asked the question again: “How many of you would like to go to heaven tonight?” Again, every hand went up but one. So the pastor stopped, looked at the little boy, and said, “Son, don’t you want to go to heaven?”
“Yes … someday,” the boy answered. “But I thought you were getting up a load right now!”
“How many of you would like to go to heaven?”
Paul wanted to go to heaven, but he didn’t have a death wish. He simply recognized that when the time came for him to depart, heaven would be far better than his life on Earth.
Here’s why:
- Heaven is better because we are moving from a tent to a mansion. This is the very picture Scripture paints for us. Instead of living in our corruptible, ageing bodies, we will be given new bodies: incorruptible, perfect, and without any sinful inclinations or depraved natures. Paul said, “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:53–54 NIV).
- Heaven is better because there will be no suffering or death. Revelation 21:3–4 tells us, “ ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ ” (NIV).
“How many of you would like to go to heaven?”
Heaven is better because it will be immediate.
- 3 .Notice Paul said, “I desire to depart and be with Christ,” not “I desire to depart and go into a holding area,” or “I desire to depart and go to purgatory,” or “I desire to depart and go into a soul sleep.” Paul said none of those things because he knew that the moment he took his last breath on Earth, he would take his first breath in heaven. He would go immediately into the presence of God.
“How many of you would like to go to heaven?”
- All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (NLT).
- Heaven is better because we will be with Christ. This is all that really mattered to Paul. He wanted to be with the Lord. It is great that we will have new bodies; wonderful that our questions will be answered and it is comforting to know there will be no more pain or suffering or sorrow. But what really matters is that we will be with Jesus.
- The great evangelist D. L. Moody said, “It is not the jeweled walls and the pearly gates that are going to make heaven attractive. It is being with God.” Being with Jesus— that is the hope of every Christian.
“How many of you would like to go to heaven?”
What do you live for?
If you say, “To live is money,” then for you to die is to leave it all behind. You say, “To live is fame,” then for you to die is to be forgotten; “To live is power,” then for you to die is to lose it all. But if you can say, “To live is Christ,” then you will be able to say that to die is gain. This is not bizarre spirituality, but down-to-earth, practical, life changing,
New Testament Christianity. That is what God wants for us.
THE FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS IN LIFE IS GOOD HEALTH. PART-2
I find it interesting how people can get fired up over their favorite sports team, faithfully watching every game, wearing the team’s colors, and even painting their faces and we think nothing of it, other than assuming they really must love their team. But when it comes to Christianity, if someone reads the Bible regularly, attends church faithfully, or even lifts his or her hands in a worship service, such a person is considered a fanatic. So maybe we need a little more fanaticism not crazy, out-of-control zeal, but a passionate desire for the Lord Jesus Christ in which we have as much or better yet, more passion for Hi mas we have for these other things in life.
Do you have that for Him right now?
It’s easy to just mouth the words: “To live is Christ.” But is it true? Is it a passion for the Lord that keeps you going? Or is it something else?
Other pursuits are not necessarily bad. But if they are more important to you than Jesus, then they can be bad. They can even become idols in your life.
As Christians, we need to always remember that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is Jesus. And we all should be able to say, “To live is Christ.”
7 Signs Satan Is Messing with Your Mindset.
Book Summary in English ‘A Worthwhile Passion’