I want you to imagine that you die today. You see the bright lights that everyone always talks about as you ascend up into the cloudy sky. There is a beautiful staircase and angels are singing the most beautiful song you have ever heard. Your mind is racing wondering if you are dreaming or if you are actually dead. You have never heard such amazing harmonies in your life and the light is so bright that everything around you shines like a thousand diamonds glistening in the sun. You keep gliding along and the angels seem to be beckoning you to come up the stairs and into these magnificent pearly gates. They look like someone carved them out of a giant pearl that was all one piece and they shimmer and sparkle in a way that would almost blind you if you were using your human eyes. You keep going and as you continue on, you see a giant throne coming up in the distance. You know instantly that it is God. A plaguing guilt rises up in you that you have never known on earth. Yes, you have felt something like it before, but never to this magnitude...never this much. You feel ashamed to look into His face as you approach Him. When you get near enough that you can almost touch his feet, you fall on your face and cry out in pain at the guilt that you feel in your heart from all the baggage that you carried your whole life...all the unforgiven sins that you were never quite able to get past. God looks at you and you feel His overwhelming presence and you know He knows you. He knows you like you have never been known. He knows everything that you hid from people in your lifetime, everything that you thought in the depths of your heart, all your lies, deceptions, hateful thoughts, hurtful words...He knows it all. He says in a voice that your not sure is in your head or out loud, "My child, why should I let you into heaven?" You stumble over your words and you can't think of one good reason, but you say, "I was a good person, God. I wasn't great. I didn't always do the right thing, but in the grand scheme of things I was a lot better that a lot of other people." You see tears forming in His eyes and He says, "Depart from me, you do not know me." You knew going in that He had tried to get your attention so many times in your life and you never listened to Him. As you stumbled backwards with tears streaming down your face, you see someone else coming up behind you. God looks at him with this amazing look of love and says, "My child, why should I let you into heaven?" The man looks up at God and through sobs says, "Lord, you shouldn't let me into heaven. I'm a sinner and I have always been a sinner, but in your everlasting love, you sent your son to die for my sins and I believed whole heartedly that he did. So, I did nothing to deserve to be allowed to enter...you paid the price in full for me." God then smiled at the man and said, "welcome home, my son."
You see, God wants us to know that we are not perfect and unable to be that way. He wants us to come to Him just as we are...baggage, sin, past hurts, etc. It isn't about church or living a perfect life. It's all about the Son. As humans, we carry around everything that we do and have done on our backs. It's part of us. It weighs us down and gets heavier as we get older. God sent Jesus to die for us so he could take that weight from us because it isn't ours to carry. He says, "give it to me, let me come into your heart and life and carry your hardships, troubles, and pain. Let me bear your burden so you can walk in freedom."
I tell you this as someone who knows what God can do and as someone who knows Him and adores Him. I didn't always feel that way though. I used to not want anything to do with Christians. I thought they were hypocritical and judgmental. I had only ever had bad experiences with people who claimed to be Christian. Then I met my husband and he asked if I would go to church with him just one time. He said that if I didn't like it, he would never ask me to go again. So I agreed thinking, "what have I gotten myself into?" BUT I went and I was amazed at the people I met. They were warm and friendly. They were genuine. I listened to the service and I felt like I was home for the first time in my life. It ended up that I wanted to go to church and hear what they were talking about. One week the pastor asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus into their heart and I raised my hand. Since then, I have come to know God in ways that I didn't know possible. I have an amazing relationship with Him. I have found that He has the best sense of humor! I can't imagine adoring anyone more. I love my husband dearly, but he is definitely second to God. He has done amazing things for me even through suffering and pain and He has shown me so much that I never would have been able to understand without His wisdom. So, I can tell you that God is real because I know Him. I have a relationship with Him. He wants to have that relationship with you too and it is the easiest thing in the world to get.
Millions of people will go to hell for the 12 inches between their head and their heart because they can't wrap their head around the whys of God. Well, there are some things that you can't know this side of heaven, but you can know that you are saved and going there. All you have to do is ask. The bible says, "ask and you shall receive." If you would like to accept Jesus into your heart today, just pray this simple prayer:
"Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that you sent Jesus to earth to die for my sins. I ask that you come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. Thank you so much for saving me! In Jesus name, Amen."
Welcome Home!
