Many are the stories we have heard about heaven. From the fantasy of its perfection, a life of no sin, eternity and all its glory. There has also been a whole tonne of talk into who will actually make it to heaven.
Many believers hold that those saved will go to heaven. This is not true. Not every person who identifies as Christian will make it. Even Jesus confirmed this when He said:
21 “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. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
He emphasizes that those who do His will, are the ones who shall make it to heaven. Not who preached the most, sinned the least, nor gave the most tithe. It’s one who does the will of the Lord.
God’s will is in direct correlation with His word. Any Christian who regards Christ as Lord and saviour must act in tandem with that will. Sometimes this may not be the most comfortable nor seem to be the best next option.
With God, His plans are deeper than our minds, His intentions more unknown than darkness within an abyss. And doing this, following His will, without doubt requires faith. Total reliance that God is in control and wherever His will takes you. You just fall by.
This kind of obedience isn’t easily attained as it needs continual death to self and more submission to Christ. Letting go and trusting the process with God. For the Lord you trust in is sure, His plans will never let you down. As He confirms this in Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Trusting in God’s plan isn’t a sign of weakness or no sense of purpose. Rather it infers the willingness to be held accountable by God. To submit to Him and let Him be master over your life. This is the kind of relationship Christ was inferring to, when He spoke of aligning with His will. Moreover He terms such followers of His will, as sheep. Followers who do not often question leadership decisions and obey more.
See what He did when they brought to Him children in Matthew 19:13-14 NKJV
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
It’s as though Jesus was saying, if you are not ready to follow me, as a child follows his father. You are by no means ready to share in my glory.
As for the will of God, it’s complex and beyond human comprehension. It can push you to the extreme, it can protect you even when the rest of the world is sinking. It can save billions of people in the world; using just one person. This is how powerful this submission is.
By this submission, it becomes quite evident that instead of focusing on how to please God; you should rather target how to set your heart and body. To act in accordance with God’s will.
