Written March 2010


Heaven

What is heaven? Is it real? Who will be going? How do we get there? Most people will admit that they believe there is a place called heaven but it’s not a topic they will engage in conversation or discussion. Others believe that when a person dies, it’s “game over”, “end of the road“, or “dust to dust”. How about you, what do you believe?

I often hear people say when someone dies, “They are in a better place” or “They are in heaven now”. We hear, “They are riding with the angels” or “They are with God now”. Hearing these things helps us get through the grief and the loss of family, friends, and loved ones. We get comfort in thinking that something good is going to happen when we die. We might not want to think about it or talk about it but death is for eternity. I’ve heard a pastor share, “Life is short and death is certain”. Using eternity as the scale of measure, life is definitely short. The older I get, the shorter it seems to be.

It seems that the older I get the more I recognize that life, as we know it, has a distinct beginning and a distinct end. Focusing on the end of life, I’ve seen many family members, friends, and acquaintances reach the end of their life. Some were expected due to age or illness and some where a shock and completely unexpected. It seems that each time someone dies we move one position closer to our eternal destiny. The older we get, the shorter the line ahead of us. At some point we all will become next in line. It will be our turn to go. Death is certain.

So where did the idea of a place called heaven develop? As best I can tell, it came from the book known as the Bible. The New International Version of the Bible has over six hundred references to “heaven” or “heavens”. If someone knows another way we learned about the place called heaven I invite you to share it with me. I don’t know of anything except for the Bible and word of mouth that tells us about heaven. The truth of the Bible never changes. Word of mouth … well we all know how that goes. Some people who openly admit that they don’t believe in the Bible will state that they believe in heaven. We all want to believe that we are going to the better place.

So, if a person believes that a place called heaven exists, and apparently we learned of the existence of heaven from the Bible, and we know that life has a distinct ending and death lasts for eternity, then it would stand to reason that we might want to know how to get to heaven, if heaven is a better place. The Bible provides the information needed to get to heaven. No one goes because they are better than another or because they are special or chosen to go. No one has been too bad to get to heaven and no one goes because they are good enough to get there. The Bible contains specific instructions for choosing our eternal destiny. It is a personal choice. If you are going to heaven, there will be no doubt in your mind. You’ll know for certain you are going and you’ll know why and how.

My personal belief is that heaven is real, it’s God’s home, and when I die I will be in heaven for eternity. God created us with a free will to choose to believe in Him or choose not. If the choice I made is correct then I will live an eternal life in heaven. No one can make the choice for me and I can’t make it for anyone else. It is a personal decision. If you chose not to believe in heaven or what the Bible says regarding how to get there, that’s your personal decision. It’s none of my business. It’s between you and our heavenly father. Not between you and me.

If you doubt what I’m sharing is true - you might be right - I could be wrong. I invite you to read the Bible and validate what I am sharing. Don’t simply take my word for truth.

If you choose not to believe in God, heaven, or eternal life and you are right, then neither of us has lost anything. We all die … end of life … game over. But if my choice to believe in God and heaven is correct, and you choose not to believe, then you have made the wrong choice and the Bible has specific consequences for both of us.
Give it some thought.

God Bless you!
Here if you need me,
Chaplain Sonny