Your Eternity
When you die, where will you spend eternity? Notice that I didn’t say "if
you die", but "when you die". You will spend it somewhere, but where? We
live in time, but eternity is forever, and ever, and ever. A simple analogy is that 10,000
years is like a single grain of sand, whereas eternity is like a sandy beach 10,000 miles
long, and wide, and deep. The Bible says that once born, we live forever. While we are on
earth, we will decide where we will spend eternity. Why is it then that many of us spend
more time on investigating what car to buy than on where we will spend eternity?
The Truth
In John 17:17, Jesus said in His prayer to his Father "Sanctify them by the
truth; your word is truth". Our Lord repeatedly quoted from the Scriptures. In his
threefold temptation, he responded to Satan each time with a quotation from the Old
Testament. He spoke of the authority and permanence of the Scripture: "scripture
cannot be broken" (John 10:35). If we believe in Jesus, then we must believe in
everything that He said and did. If Jesus lied about anything, then he is a Liar and not
Lord. Therefore, since Jesus believed in the Scriptures, the basis for this discussion is
nothing more than the Bible itself, the Word of God.
Heaven
Heaven is most simply defined as where God is. It is a place of rest (Heb. 4:9), of
glory (2 Cor. 4:17), of holiness (Rev. 21:27), of worship (Rev. 19:1), of fellowship with
others (Heb. 12:23), and of being with God (Rev. 21:3). The prayer that our Lord Jesus
taught us begins with "Our Father in heaven" (Matt. 6:9).
Only One God
You may wonder about other religions and other gods. Again, the Bible makes
it clear that "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5) and "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there
is no God" (Isaiah 44:6). Jesus Christ was extremely precise when He discussed the
issue of the salvation of man. He made a statement that some may consider close-minded,
but He made no apology for it:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matt. 7:13-14)
You may say: "That’s very narrow-minded." However, being broad-minded
can be very foolish if what you are broad-minded about is not true.
Truth is narrow and
absolute. Two times two always equals four. The issue is the truth - not what we feel, not
what we think, not what seems right, but what God teaches in His Word. "There is a
way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Prov. 14:12).
Jesus
said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me" (John 14:6).
Love Relationship
Heaven is spending eternity with the God of the Bible. In fact, this is why
God created mankind in the first place. God is Love (1 John 4:8), and God is Life (John
14:6), and God created mankind so that He could share His Love and Life. God was not
lonely because He is self-sufficient, but He created us to have an eternal Love
Relationship with Him. God desires that each of us enters into this personal relationship,
but He doesn’t force us to (like robots). Since true love is only possible when we
are free to choose, he allows us to decide whether we want to establish this relationship
with Him.
