John.17.16:
” They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”. (NKJV)
OUR LORD , Jesus Christ, said the words quoted above some days before He returned to heaven.
It was part of a long prayer which He offered to God on behalf of His followers of that present time and the future ones: He said they were not of this world.
A few lines down this recorded prayer He made a request to God, specifically in verse 24:
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world”. (NKJV)
It makes sense that He should make that request on behalf of His disciples since He had earlier said that they were not of this world.
But, having said the words above, it is pertinent to ask this heart searching question: do Jesus Christ’s disciples really want to go to heaven to be with Him as He had requested to God that it be granted to them?
I have not seen so great an opportunity treated with such unseriousness as this one! Today the body language of most professing disciples of Jesus Christ suggests that they’d rather welcome an invitation to travel to a dream earthly destination than to heaven. Actually, some of them pray, fast, and work hard to save enough money to make this dream come true. But as for the invitation to travel to heaven and be with Jesus Christ…?
You can be the judge of that !
I can’t remember receiving a prayer request for that in recent decades. But I’ve heard of so many prayer requests for a visa to travel overseas! Why is this so? Is it because we think that heaven will not be worth our expectations after all? No, I do not think so because we are aware that heaven is supposed to be the most beautiful city ever built. In fact it is to be understood that the One who made the universe in all its glorious beauty must live in a much more better and grandier place; and that is quite correct!
So, why are His invited disciples not eager to go there? Why do they vehemently defy any suggestions, either from their own hearts or from others, that they’d soon go to be with the LORD in heaven? Why do they wish themselves a prolonged existence in a world that they so very often cry out to God to help them survive, even when they know that He’s eagerly waiting for them to join Him in heaven? Have we lost our love for heaven? Do we fear that we are not yet prepared enough to make the journey?
The legendary musician, Peter Tosh sang: “EVERY BODY WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN, BUT NO BODY WANTS TO DIE”.
The fear of death might be a factor for this “heaven-phobia” amongst the very ones for whom that pleasant celestial city has been built.What an irony that we so much desire to be with Jesus Christ and yet fear to take the step in that direction which leads home to Him!
What fuels such unhealthy fears in God’s own elect? Do we realize what grieve this causes God; that so much has been prepared for our home coming but we are not in the least prepared for the journey? But why shouldn’t we be? It is a no brainer that we’d be better off with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven than we’d be in this world, even with all its treasures and riches at our disposal.
What fuels the fear of death?
Sin does!
Sin makes anyone unworthy of the Holy City of God to which we His children have been given the opportunity to inhabit for eternity. If this is the case, why do we not deal with the issue of sin more decisively and, thus, save ourselves the horror of living with the fear of death once and for all?
I know a few disciples of Jesus Christ, both in contemporary times and in the historical times of the early church, who were not afraid to die. I had a friend, Brother Anthony, who on his death bed admonished that no one should weep for him because he was sure of where he was going to in death. He died shortly after those words. But before then, he had shared some wonderful personal encounters with angels and a trip to heaven. He was my bossom friend in Christ, and we had spent so much time in prayers, fellowship in the word and evangelism while serving our Lord Jesus Christ. He had shared one of such encounters with me shortly before his death. He told me of an angelic visit to his bedside which resulted in a journey to heaven in a celestial craft. He told me of a great mansion in heaven, the floor of which he thought was too good for him to tread on until he was told by the angel that it belonged to him!
Surely, such a disciple would not be afraid of death, which is the veil that he must pass through to enter into the joy and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven.
My beloved mother’s last words before she breathed her last were: ” Lord, I know that I will see your glory”.
I know those were not words borne out of some wishful thoughts, but by a certainty which came from a dedicated life of services to God, and choices which reflected His will for all the years I had known her till her dying day.
I know of a dear elderly sister whose last night in the hospital bed was spent in a prayer vigil until when at few minutes past 7 am the next morning she said:
” Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit, soul and body”.
Then she closed her eyes in death at once. Surely, she was not afraid to die!
I know of Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul’s accounts of their impending death; they were not afraid to embrace death!
Peter said:
2Pet.1.14 – “But the Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that my days here on earth are numbered and I am soon to die.
2Pet.1.15 – So I will work hard to make these things clear to you. I want you to remember them long after I am gone. “
That was a joyful way of announcing his passing which was soon to happen. He didn’t ask for prayers from fellow faithfuls to avert his coming death. He had no reason to because it was the Lord’s will and he was prepared for it. There was no sin to obscure the glory that was set before him!
In the same vein, Apostle Paul also announced his impending call to glory with much hope and no fears!
2Tim.4.6 – “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near .
2Tim.4.7 – I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”
Brethren, we have a journey to prepare for. It is the journey to our eternal home in heaven.
Heaven is to be desired more than the world in which we now live in, but the greatest joy -killer is sin! There’s no way that you can experience the thrill of meeting with God and His Son Jesus Christ if you’re still wining and dinning with the world and it’s ungodliness. Jesus Christ said that no one can serve two masters at the same time; neither can you pledge allegiance to God and Satan at the same time! The one who owns your heart dictates the trajectory of your eternal destination. Who is it – God or satan?
While we might, by default, claim that God orders our way, can we truly substantiate this claim without the slightest compunction? Does our conscience accuse or excuse us? Do we feel the cold sweat of fear or the warmth of ecstatic joy whenever we are confronted with the reality of death? Whichever is the case, there’s one truth we cannot over look: we must all eventually die as long as time continues!
Heb.9.27 – “And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment,” .
Matt.24.42 -” So be prepared, because you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. “
Philippians 1:20-21 :
“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
You have an appointment with God. Jesus Christ requested it. You have to prepare and be ready for it because it cannot be cancelled. In God’s own time you shall be summoned to embark on the journey back home to heaven.
Whether you’re prepared or not you must be taken! So, why not be ready?
2Cor.5.10 – For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. –
2Cor.5.11 – It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.
MAY WE HAVE A GLORIOUS HOME CALL IN GOD’S DUE TIME.
Joseph Dominic Achi.