HEAVEN IS OUR GOAL
By Cougan Collins
lgchurchofchrist@cableone.net
Getting to heaven should be our main goal in life because no one should desire to spend eternity with the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41). Unfortunately, many do not have their priorities straight. As Jesus said:
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is
the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mt. 7:13-14).
Living the Christian life
and keeping your priorities straight is not easy, which is why Jesus said only
a few will make it. Since only a few get to heaven, it should cause us to take
a serious look at ourselves to see if we are traveling down the difficult road
that leads to heaven or the broad road that leads to destruction.
It is easy to get
distracted from our goal of heaven because our society is
driven by the pursuit of money and possessions. As Jesus said:
“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he
who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Mt. 13:22).
There is nothing wrong
with having riches; they only become a problem when we start loving them more
than we love God (1 Tim. 6:10). When our priorities
are in order, we will use what God has blessed us with to further the
“But seek first the
There is nothing the
world can offer that is worth losing our soul to the devil (Mt. 16:26). As
Jesus said:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and
where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Mt. 6:19-21).
We should remind
ourselves daily that God must be first in our life (Mt. 10:37-38), and we
should keep our thoughts on heaven (Col. 3:2). After all, heaven is a prepared
place for prepared people (Jn. 14:2-3). The comfort and beauty of heaven cannot
be described by mere words because it is more majestic than we can imagine (1 Cor. 2:9).
So, I encourage you to make heaven your goal by
fighting the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12) and by obeying the commands of
God. As Jesus said:
“Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven” (Mt. 7:21).
Getting to heaven requires endurance, patience, and persistence but the eternal rewards are worth it all. The writer of Hebrews tells us how to achieve our goal of heaven:
“Therefore we also, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which so easily ensnares us, and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2).
To learn more, we invite
you to come worship with us.