The Wrong Question (Part 1 of 2)

As a pastor, I have been asked many questions. One question that is pervasive, although it takes various forms, could be simply stated as, “Will I go to heaven when I die?” As the title of this post suggests, I believe that is the absolute wrong question and I will explain why momentarily. However, to provide an answer to the question above, all I can truly admit to anyone is that I cannot know that answer for anyone but myself. 1 John 5.13 states that we can know that we have eternal life, but I cannot necessarily know about you nor can you know about me. We might suspect the answer, but God searches (and knows) the heart. You and I can only see the outside evidence. Certainly, the fruit of faith is important, but just as the fruit we eat can look deceptively good (or bad) it is the inside that truly matters.

But let me turn towards the primary reason for this post. In fact, 1 John 5.13 provides evidence for my statement about going to heaven being the wrong answer. You might not see it at first, and if so, it is because of a definition that many have entrenched in their minds. The verse says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” Do you see the answer now? If not, let me clarify.

Eternal life does not begin when we die – it begins when we “believe in the name of the Son of God.” Now that doesn’t mean we know the name Jesus, it means we have faith in the name and all that He represents. But the point here is that we have life when that faith begins, not when we die. Thus, when we ask, “Will I go to heaven when I die?” we are really saying, in some fashion, “Will I get to enjoy all God has promised once I die?” (More specifically, many people are asking “Have I done enough to get to heaven?” but that is a worse question, in my opinion, and deserves another post altogether.)

The reason that the earlier question is the wrong one is that Jesus has promised to be with His people always (Matthew 28.20), and sent the Spirit to guide us throughout our lives as Christians (John 14.16-17; 15.7). Furthermore, those who follow Jesus are children of God (1 John 3.1-2), and that benefit begins on earth...we need not wait for heaven.

I realize of course that this earth is not what heaven will be. Problems we face while living on this side of eternity will disappear completely on the other side. But that fact is true of eternity, not of heaven. Heaven is a place and may represent our concept of eternity, but heaven was created, just as was the earth. Thus, we need not focus on “going to heaven” we need to keep our focus on God, not a place we might idolize by our desiring to be there.

Ultimately, we must ask ourselves if our goal is to be in heaven or to be with Jesus. The two need not be mutually exclusive, but, I fear, for too many people heaven is the greater goal. For me, I do not care if I ever go to heaven and long as I am with Jesus. Eternity for me is about being with a Person, not being in a place. In Part 2 of this two-part series (next week), I will elaborate on this idea further.