Am I going to heaven?

Someone very dear to me once asked, "Am I going to Heaven?"

The following was my prayerful response.

  I have long been praying and pondering how best to share my thoughts with you regarding your reply when I asked you, "What question would you ask Jesus if you could?" 

       You thoughtfully replied with, “Am I going to be with you in heaven?” 

       The very fact that you asked that question, imparts great humility. 

In my sleeplessness that night, I felt compelled to pray and to read from Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost for His Highest.” In so doing, I was led to 1 John 4:18; “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 

Out of context, this bit of scripture may seem rather ominous for anyone with the least bit of doubt regarding their standing in Christ. Especially since we are so naturally prone to base our faith on our performance, instead of on the finished work of our redeemer, Christ Jesus.

So how can we shift our focus off our deeds and onto our faith? Well, let’s back up to the second half of 1 John 4:16, and read through to verse 18; “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are like him.”

If we are compelled to look within ourselves, at our actions, our thoughts, and our heart, then let us also look at our love. Ask yourself, “Do I live in love?” For if you live in love, then according to scripture, you live in God, and he lives in you. To get a broader look at what John is saying here, take a look at 1 John 4:7 through 5:12.

I know it is hard to shake the old ‘performance-based’ way of life that we have been taught, learned to value, and have lived out for so many years. But remember the promise Jesus gave us in the Sermon on the Mount; “Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

I hope you find this note helpful and receive it in the spirit of love that it is given. If you would like to talk more about this, or would like more scriptural references, let me know.