The Hope of Heaven

The prospect of heaven has long been a source of hope and encouragement for Christians. Some Christian traditions place great emphasis on heaven. They stress the need to be assured that you’re going there and that this present life is merely a prelude to the eternal symphony of the afterlife spent with Christ and all the saints. Other traditions of Christianity, while acknowledging heaven, place more emphasis on this life. They stress the need to be engaged in God’s reconciling work of love in this present world. Many people, Christian and not, while valuing heaven, are also more focused on this life. For these people, heaven is something that’s nice to know about. That is, it’s nice to know that when you die, it’s not the end. Most people, regardless of their belief about heaven, aren’t in any rush to get there.

There is an old saying in some Christian circles, “don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.” This is a jab at the person whose thoughts are always in the clouds, always elsewhere, and never concerned with the practical realities of life. However, if one did a quick survey of those who are involved with the world’s most neglected and despised people: the poor, the hungry, and the sick, one will typically find a high percentage of people who might be described as “heavenly minded.”

The whole point of being “heavenly minded” is not so that we might disregard the challenges of the present life. Quite the opposite, the Lord’s Prayer tells us that we should live our lives so that things in our world will mirror the realm of God, in other words, “on earth as it is in heaven.” Heaven gives us a picture of how things should be and motivates us to not be satisfied with the broken and hurting world as it is.  One of the reasons that Christians are supposed to live lives that differ so radically from others is because we stand with one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. Heaven is something we experience on earth when we do God’s will.  Going to heaven then, is simply placing both feet into that mystery which we have already experienced in small glimpses and small tastes while on earth. 

Getting Ready to Die

Death is not a popular or comfortable topic in most of North America. Our popular culture is obsessed with unnatural youthfulness and everything is done to keep death hidden away from our minds, our eyes, and our ears. Death must be acknowledged if our lives are to be lived meaningfully.

The greatest preparation for death is to live a full life here on earth. For the Christian, fullness of life is found in loving God and loving our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). Some people die without warning, for them the only preparation for their death is the content and character of their lives.

However, many people are aware that they are coming closer to death. This could be because of illness, advanced age, or violent circumstances. When we know that death is coming we should prepare ourselves as best we can.

This involves four basic steps:

#1 Trust in Christ. Be assured that you have professed belief in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Recognize it's His death and His resurrection that gives you the guarantee of your resurrection to eternal life. It’s not unusual for people to have attended church their whole life yet never made a personal commitment to Christ.

#2 Wrap Your Earthly Affairs. When you know that death is coming soon it’s important to take care of your earthly affairs. Hopefully, you’ll have already written a will and made your wishes known to your family. But at this point you need to finalize these matters so you can focus on the final transition from this life to the next.

#3. Make your Confession. It’s important as death approaches to come clean with God, with friends and family. Seek to make amends where possible. Make sure to tell the people in your life that you love them. Also, many Christians have benefited from making a final private confession with their parish priest. This is a way of spiritually cleaning house before you enter into the fuller presence of God.

#4. Receive Holy Communion and Prayer on a regular basis. Plus seek encouragement from your pastor, church, and family. Seek to accept that your time here on earth is done, and that you are now moving on to the nearer presence of God. Relish the time you have remaining. Make a point to bless others each day.

Christians believe that Jesus overcame death through His life, death and resurrection. This is a great consolation for the believer. It does not, however, remove the necessity to prepare ourselves for death.