We will be surprised when we get to heaven who made it and who didn’t!!
When I received a text telling me that Whitney Houston had died, I couldn’t believe it. How is that possible?? She was so much alive just two days prior, rehearsing for the Grammys. Now, while I don’t follow Grammy awards, I have always had a particular interest in entertainers that started off serving God and eventually branched off into mainstream entertainment. I would always ask God ‘why serving Him in church wasn’t enough to hold their talents or their interest’? ‘Were they meant to stay in the four walls of the church, or was your plan so much bigger for them, where they were supposed to reach the world’?
While I pondered that question after hearing the news of Whitney, I couldn’t help think about how critical so many were of her and the choices she made in her life. Would she have gone down the path she did, if the same people that claimed they loved her when she was in the height of her career, still demonstrated that same love when she had hit low points? It amazes me how quickly we judge others based on our ideals and what we think their life should or shouldn’t look like. Many were not sure whether she made it to heaven because of her lifestyle. That bothered me tremendously, because we don’t get to
determine who enters heaven, God determines who enters heaven, based on what He knows and not what He sees. The bible says Matthew 7:1-2 (AMP) 1DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. 2For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.
If my memory serves me correctly, the bible states one criteria for making it into heaven: acknowledging Christ and what He did for us on the cross, and realizing that we are all sinners, born into a world of sin and cannot get to heaven on our own…on our so-called good deeds. I am not condoning living a life of sin, but we are all sinners. We sin all the time and constantly have to ask God for forgiveness. We, as human beings, have a sinful nature, we were born into a sinful world. The only saving grace is the Blood of Jesus. Like the song says “What can wash away my sins, nothing but the Blood of Jesus…” We ask the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and help us live according to the Word and the Will of God daily. But we all fall short…Romans 3:20-25 (AMP) 20For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [[a]not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character]. 21But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets, 22Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory [b]which God bestows and receives. 24[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, 25Whom God put forward [[c]before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
Every time I find myself looking at a situation like Whitney’s or any other person and wondering if they made it to heaven, I am reminded of that scripture in Romans. I am always asking God if there was something else that could have been done to reach the person. One day, I was asking God if there was an easier way to explain salvation to someone who had never been in a church, or who was opposed to even hearing about salvation. Here is what God showed me…’Do you ever wonder why in Luke, he felt the need to include the two thieves on the cross? They are only mentioned that one time and never again in the bible’. Luke 23:32-43 (Amplified Bible)32Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be executed with Him. 33And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Latin: Calvary; Hebrew: Golgotha], there they crucified Him, and [along with] the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. 34And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them. 35Now the people stood by [[b]calmly and leisurely] watching; but the rulers scoffed and sneered ([c]turned up their noses) at Him, saying, He rescued others [[d]from death]; let Him now rescue Himself, if He is the Christ (the Messiah) of God, His Chosen One! 36The soldiers also ridiculed and made sport of Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar (a sour wine mixed with water) 37And saying, If you are the King of the Jews, save (rescue) Yourself [[e]from death]. 38For there was also an inscription above Him [f]in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew: This is the King of the Jews. 39One of the criminals who was suspended kept up a railing at Him, saying, Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Rescue Yourself and us [[g]from death]! 40But the other one reproved him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you yourself are under the same sentence of condemnation and suffering the same penalty? 41And we indeed suffer it justly, receiving the due reward of our actions; but this Man has done nothing out of the way [nothing [h]strange or eccentric or perverse or unreasonable]. 42Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come [i]in Your kingly glory! 43And He answered him, Truly I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.
This is the very picture of salvation made simple without all the frills. It is simply that both men lived a life of sin right up until their dying hour, but one recognized who Jesus was and acknowledged that he(the thief) was a sinner. He asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Glory. That was the difference…and that is the difference now between who acknowledges Jesus’ sacrifice for us and others that spurn it.
Interesting….Imagine that there are some that will live their whole lives for themselves…doing things that most would consider evil and a one way ticket to hell. But God….at the last minute, He gives that person the chance to get to know Him in their dying hour and they make it to heaven. What a novel idea!! I have heard it said time and time again, that when we get to heaven, we will be surprised by who made it to heaven and who didn’t. It is time we stop judging and start loving!! My prayer, Lord, give me a heart like yours where I only demonstrate your love…the love of Christ that extends the same mercy and grace to others that is given to me, on a regular basis.
