One minute after you die you will either be enjoying a personal
welcome from Christ or catching your first glimpse of gloom as you
have never known it. Either way, your future will be irrevocably
fixed and eternally unchangeable. Those who find themselves in
heaven will be surrounded with many friends they have known on
earth. Every description of heaven they have ever heard will pale
in light of reality. But others will find themselves shrouded in
darkness in a region of deprivation and unending regret. For them,
death will be far worse than they ever imagined. So while relatives
and friends plan your funeral, you will be more alive than you have
ever been. You will either see God on His throne surrounded by
angels and redeemed humanity, or you will feel an indescribable
weight of guilt and abandonment. There is no destination midway
between these extremes. Unaware of Danger I once read a tragic
account about people enjoying themselves on the top stories of a
tall apartment building not knowing that there was a fire burning
on the lower floors. In a similar way, many people are enjoying
life now, comfortably ignoring the fact that their death is not
only inevitable, but much nearer than they think. Indeed, this
world and all we have accumulated will eventually be burned up (2
Peter 3:10). Don't imagine for a moment that you will get to heaven
without the right credentials. You will not be there because your
wife has a right to enter. You will not be there because you have a
child who is already there. No, this is an individual matter, and
only those with the right credentials will be allowed entry. Our
problem, of course, is that God will not accept us on our terms. We
cannot arrive at heaven's gates hoping for leniency. "It is
appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment"
(Hebrews 9:27). We cannot come pleading for special favors once we
have slipped from this life into eternity. Our Only Hope Our only
hope is for God to give us credit for righteous perfection we could
never attain on our own. Once such righteousness is credited to our
account we can enter heaven immediately at death without so much as
an intermediate stop. As the Bible says, "away from the body and at
home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). Here's how that's
possible: When Christ died on the cross, He offered himself as a
sacrifice for sinners, which God accepted. "For our sake he [God]
made him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though
Christ was perfect, God made Him legally guilty of all of our sins.
In turn, those who believe that Christ did this for them receive
credit for his righteousness before God. Christ was considered to
be a sinner when he took our sins on himself. In turn God considers
us to be saints when we receive Christ's righteousness. God has
exceedingly high standards, but thanks to him, he meets them for us
through this amazing exchange. It's the only way we could ever
enter God's heaven! A New Nature When we receive Christ's
righteousness, God also changes our whole perspective. Christ said,
"Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John
3:3). So, how can we receive the gift of righteousness and be "born
again"? The answer is to admit our helplessness and sinfulness to
God, and to acknowledge that we are dependent on his mercy. We must
have a complete change of mind about whatever we were believing
would make us acceptable to God. Instead we must transfer all of
our trust to Christ as our sin-bearer. We must believe in Him as
the One who did all that we will ever need to stand in God's holy
presence. To "believe in Christ" means that as best we know, we
trust Him alone for all that we need to please God in this life and
to live with him forever in heaven. Here is a prayer that you may
want to use if you desire to transfer your trust to Christ alone
for your eternal salvation. And if you pray in faith, God will
receive you. Dear God, I know I'm a sinner and there is nothing
that I can do to save myself. I confess my complete helplessness to
forgive my own sin or to work my way to heaven. At this moment I
trust Christ alone as the One who took on all my sins when he died
on the cross. I believe that he did everything necessary for me to
live someday in your holy presence. I thank you that Christ was
raised from the dead. As best as I know how, I transfer my trust to
him. I am grateful that you have promised to receive me despite my
many sins and failures. Father, I take you at your word. I thank
You that I can face death now that Christ is my Savior. Thank you
for the assurance that you will walk with me through death's door.
Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus' name, amen." Where will
you be...one minute after you die?
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