If you were judged based on what you did yesterday, would you be in a place to enter heaven today? When I first read this question, I was very troubled. It made me think for a long time, and I'm not sure I could honestly answer yes. The promise of heaven is something I think a lot of believers take for granted. If we eventually get around to doing good deeds and praying a little more than usual, we should be good to enter heaven, right? Unfortunately I think that answer is a no. The end goal of heaven, isn't something that is meant to scare or persuade us into having a strong faith, but rather inspire us. Each person has the ability to get to heaven, but as individuals it is our responsibility to put in the work and effort to get there. While God is a forgiving and loving Father, at the same time he expects us to go above and beyond with the gifts we are given. I find myself going through cycles of having super strong faith one week, and other weeks I sometimes fall off and focus on other things. This is pretty normal in the crazy world we live in, but God calls us to be better than that. He calls us to maintain a faith and belief in him without any hesitation or distraction.
Heaven is a concept so amazing, that while on earth, we can't even fathom it. I think that is a common struggle that arises when thinking about heaven. Because we don't realize and understand heaven and it's true greatness, it’s hard to strive towards it. For example, when we go through college to earn a degree, or apply for a certain job we want, we know what we are working towards. There is a clear end goal and through our determination and hard work, we can usually predict how close we are to achieving those goals or not. Materialistic goals have a clear and concise path to follow. We can look at others who also have previously achieved the goal we are striving towards. But when it comes to heaven, what exactly does that path to eternal life look like? Who should we look to for guidance in achieving the ultimate goal of living in heaven with God? Not going to lie, I don't have the answer to the question of what the path looks like, because it's different for each individual. But we do have the answer for who to look to for guidance, Jesus Christ. God sent us Jesus, in the human form, as the perfect example. Jesus showed us struggle, hardship, and most importantly faith. Jesus’ faith was unwavering. Jesus is the model of faith we should all follow.Â
When it comes to the promise of heaven, we really can’t wait for tomorrow to act. We have no idea when our final judgment and end of life on earth will be. Because of this uncertainty, the time to act and dive into our faith is NOW. The last thing we want is for it to be too late. Our goal needs to be doing whatever we can to find our way to heaven. Although it may seem difficult, God really doesn’t make it too hard. He wants us to find the path, in fact, he even helps us find it if we let him. So I ask again, If you were judged based on what you did yesterday, would you be in a place to enter heaven today? I pray and hope that all of us one day are able to answer that question with a confident yes, because there is truly no greater goal and purpose in life then that of the promise of the kingdom of heaven.
By Alex Klare