Live for Heaven’s Sake

Nothing brings questions of eternity and Heaven to our minds more powerfully than the passing of a loved one or a very dear friend or when facing a terminal illness. When I first heard the word, “homecall” being used to describe a Christian’s passing, it warmed my heart, it was deeply comforting. When Christians mourn the loss of someone they loved, they are comforted by the knowledge that their loved ones are called home to be with their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

To followers of Christ, being called home means this world is not our final home, we are just passing through because we are citizens of Heaven, where Jesus Christ lives (Philippians 3:20). Our final destination is Heaven where we will live forever in the presence of God Himself and among His people and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:3-4).

So when my sister, whom I loved dearly, was called home recently, I was deeply comforted that she is now in Heaven where there is no more sorrows and pain but eternal peace and joy.

The Only Way to Heaven

God’s standard for entry into Heaven is perfection. Yet no one has ever lived a perfect life without sin except Jesus Christ. We must be perfect because God is perfect and anything less is to fall short of His standard and His glory. No matter how many sacrifices we make or good works we do, we cannot erase a single sin. And one sin is enough to disqualify us from Heaven. Left on our own we are lost and without any hope of enjoying life in Heaven.

But God so loved the world, He provided a way for people to enter Heaven. He gave His one and only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sin.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16 NIV)

God offers the gift of eternal life to those who welcome Jesus into their lives as Lord and Saviour and accept that His death on the cross paid the penalty for their sins. He promised that all who accept this free gift will be granted the joy of eternal life in Heaven.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth, he confesses, resulting in salvation (Romans 10:9-10 (NASB))

When we accept God’s grace and believe in His promises through faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, God declared us righteous not because of anything we did or say but merely because of His grace.

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 EHV)

He Makes Us Right in His Sight

Through Jesus’ death, God received the payment He requires for our sin. In return God credited us with the sinless life of Jesus. This exchange assures us of Heaven, since Jesus’ payment and His righteousness are ours to have by faith. This righteousness didn’t become ours based on our own actions or through merit or works; it is ours by faith in Jesus Christ.

And at the moment of faith, we experience the spiritual baptism of the Holy Spirit. The sinful spirit we inherited from Adam ceases to exist.It is replaced with a new Spirit made in the likeness of Christ.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

Though we have a perfect sinless spirit now, none of us will be able to lead a perfectly sinless life. The reason we still sin is not because our Spirit is flawed. It is because we still have another source apart from our Spirit. That source is our sinful, physical body. Before we were saved, we have one voice directing us, now we have two: the voice of the Spirit and the old voice of the flesh. We have spent our entire life being slaves to our sinful nature before we were saved.

But now by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, we can get closer to being sinless by sinning less. Without the Spirit working in us, we have no power to achieve a spiritual change inside out; we lack the spiritual compass to live righteously on a daily basis. Now that we are saved,we have a perfect Spirit who will guide us and help us stay away from sin. We are free to live for God and not for our own sinful self. Let us listen to Him instead of our sinful body.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures says: “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:17 NLT)

Set Your Heart on Heaven

In Colossians 3:2 we are told that we should set our mind on things above, not on things that are on earth. Yet many of us are caught in the never-ending pursuits of fulfilling our worldly desires: to possess a bigger house or a bigger car; to strive for a perfect job with the highest salary that will make this earthly life our very own “heaven” on earth.

The Bible clearly tells us not to love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them.

For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives for ever (1 John 2:16-17 NIVUK)

According to the Bible, our goal in life should be to make ourselves a living sacrifice for Christ, working for His glory. We make this sacrifice daily by rejecting the world’s priorities, values and the pursuits of material things. We should store up for ourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth or rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal (Matthew 6:19-20).

Let us not allow the things of this world to determine our happiness, security, contentment and fulfillment. When we set our sights on Heaven and our mind on God, we gain a proper perspective of our lives. Knowing that our earthly treasures and pleasures are mere memories and temporal, should motivate us to build treasures in Heaven that are untainted, unspoilt and for eternity. When we set our mind on things above, the things of this world will fade in importance.

Our Home in Heaven

Jesus assures us that we have a home in Heaven. He refers to it as His Father’s house.

In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you (John 14:2 NASB)

Therefore, throughout our remaining days on earth, let us not be discouraged by temporal cares, despair or suffering. Accept the circumstances, good or bad, as they are presented to us. Expect periods of hardship to occur and don’t be worried or dismayed when they arrived. When our time to suffer comes around, lean on our sovereign God, knowing that He will use this suffering for His purpose and for our own good. When we are struggling with our pain and suffering, remember that they are all temporal. Our solace is knowing that our Father has already prepared a home for us in Heaven where:

Never again will they hunger, never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:16-17 NIV).

An Australian aboriginal proverb describes our life on earth in a nutshell: “We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.”