My dad and I had a great conversation the other day about heaven and being rewarded for what we do here on earth. He asked an interesting question.
What happens when we get to heaven expecting to see a loved one and they are not there?
My grandma is 76 years old.
She lives in her house alone.
Walks down her basement stairs every time she needs to get laundry done.
Does water aerobics weekly.
Walks at the Y weekly
Stays very active at her senior center.
She takes the bus everywhere because she has never had a license.
She’s an inspiration to me and I love her so much. My Grandma has a friend who has been a widow twice and lost all four of her children. She is almost 90 years old. My grandma said what my heart was saying, “ It has to be the worst to lose your children.”
Then Grandma went on to say that day she felt ready. Ready to leave this earth and join her loves in heaven. She said that she feels peace because all her children know the Lord.
I thought about that. And that’s exactly how I would feel. I want my daughter to know the Lord and I pray now that she does. Last Sunday the message at church was reminding us as Christians we have a responsibility to tell others about the Lord. All the excuses we make mean nothing, we have a duty to fulfill, and many of us shy away from it.
Which brings me back to my grandma. Every time I had a new boyfriend or a new friend ( we moved around a lot so I made lots of friends!) she would ask me, “ Do they know the Lord?” It never mattered to her what religion they were or if they went to church every Sunday; she just wanted to know if they knew the Lord. Many times I would answer “Well yeah so and so goes to church”.. and I never realized until later in life how important that question is. Going to church every Sunday is not a free pass on knowing God.
It’s time to stop pulling out excuses on why we can’t tell others about Jesus.
In college I told people that I was a Christian. Yet I didn’t give 100 percent of my life to God. I still liked to have control. I was still exercising my freedom of being 750 miles away from my parents. Yet my dad loves Jesus so much and because of him and my mom I had Jesus in my heart.
But I kept my excuses handy in my pocket and never hesitated to use them when I felt there was a time I could have witnessed to someone. I wanted to get over the feelings of embarrassment and mostly the fear of not knowing enough.
I worried that someone would ask me something I didn’t have an answer for and then I worried what they would think of me. In college I wanted to start going to church because guilt was my motivator and that is not the best motivator. I was having a lot of convictions at the time. I was split 50/50. I wanted to be close with God and tell others but I didn’t want to give up bad habits that made me feel comfort and apart of something.
So when I wanted to tell someone about God my actions swelled up in my throat and I felt ashamed. But God did not give up on me. He just used a more drastic approach… for me I was stubborn. There were 3 times when I was feeling convictions and was involved in 3 car accidents. ( I will post these experiences next)
The truth is when we give our life to Jesus and just say YES! We are excited about the ways he has changed things in our lives, in us right? When we say Yes to God’s word, Yes to prayer, Yes to worship, he works in us, and because of his love for us amazing things happen. Some call them miracles.
Although we are not to judge others, we are to tell others about Jesus. The harsh truth is what will happen when you die? When Judgment day comes upon you?
The best news is, God knows you. He will help you speak to others to overcome whatever excuses you find yourself digging for. He allows us to start over every day, get another chance. If you’re feeling guilt like I was, confess your sin. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Ask God to forgive you. Let him change your heart.
Like most things the first time will feel crazy and nerve racking and you may not say everything exactly how you hoped but that’s ok. Because each time it gets easier and God will continue to work in your heart and you’ll be bringing others to heaven with you.
“When the son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepard separates the sheep from his goats. He will put the sheep on his right and goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, “ Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world….” Then He will say to those on his left, “ Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”.. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46.
Chris Carter
Oh I love that your grandma would ask that question all the time!! It really comes down to Heaven. this life is a blip on the timeline of eternity- just a quick stop, and who will be with us for the ‘forever’? We need to be bold, and faithfully step into those uncomfortable conversations with our natural selves… each one of us, in whatever place we are in our faith, can be used by God to further His Kingdom!
I’ve finally learned that along the way. The more grace you guzzle, the easier sharing it is. 🙂
KC
This is a good reminder. I certainly don’t go around telling everyone, but once a relationship is built with a person I do pursue conversations with them about God. I think it comes best from people who you actually have a relationship with so they can see you in your daily life and know that you aren’t perfect or judging them. They get to see you and how you handle different situations and it allows them to hopefully see God in you.