CHRISTIANS AND HEAVEN
REVELATION 1:9 – I, John, your brother and fellow witness to the tribulation, the kingdom, and the patience of Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
In this verse, the apostle John shows us the common characteristics that all Christians who love God have, that is, Christians are brothers and sisters in the great family of Christ, suffering the same trials and tribulations in this life, having the same heart toward Heaven, and having the same patience in Jesus Christ.
These characteristics can be summarized like this:
We are brothers and sisters in one family: John does not write as a great apostle standing above others. He writes as a brother. Every person who has been born again belongs to the same spiritual family. Jesus is the firstborn, and we are His younger brothers and sisters (Romans 8:29). In God’s family there is no higher class and no lower class, only brothers and sisters who share the same Father and the same Savior.
We share the same tribulation: John calls himself a companion in tribulation. Trouble, opposition, and suffering come to every believer. Jesus said: In the world you will have tribulation (John 16:33). No true Christian is promised an easy life on earth. If we follow Jesus faithfully, the world will hate us just as it hated Him (John 15:18-20). Yet this tribulation is part of God’s loving training for His children.
We share the same kingdom: Every believer already belongs to the kingdom of God. We have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13). Even now, while we live on earth, we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). One day soon that kingdom will come in full power when Jesus returns, and we will reign with Him forever.
We share the same patience in Jesus Christ: The word patience here means steadfast endurance, waiting for the Lord without giving up. We do not lose hope when trials last a long time. We keep trusting, keep obeying, and keep looking for the coming of our Lord. This patient waiting is worked in us by the power of Jesus Himself. It is patience in Jesus Christ.
We have covered the first two characteristics in other articles, so now let us consider the third common characteristic of the Christian life, which is that we have a common heart for God’s Heaven, where we long to go in the future.
Jesus Christ came into the world to show people how to be reconciled to God. He died on the cross to bear the sins of people, so that those who believe in Him can be counted righteous and come near to God. Being reconciled and drawn closer to God is not only to be blessed by Him during our earthly life, but also to be able to go to Heaven in the future to live with God forever. That should be the primary goal of Christians. When we say that we love God, it is obvious that Christians want to be with God forever. That is one of the meanings of true faith and also the primary characteristic of love. If someone says he is a Christian but has no desire for heaven, no longing to see Jesus face to face, and is completely satisfied with this world, something is wrong. A heart that never thinks of heaven has not yet been made new by the Holy Spirit. When we say: I love God, those words must mean more than feelings or words spoken in church. True love for God always carries this clear desire: I want to be with Him where He is, forever.
Jesus Christ once declared that He and God the Father are one (John 10:30), because He loved God (John 14:31). Jesus Christ also said that because He loves Christians, His children, so He wants us to be where He is (John 12:26, 14:3, 17:24). Therefore, when Christians declare that they love God, they naturally must focus their personal efforts on entering Heaven in the future. The saints of old all had the same goal (Hebrews 11:16). Today, Christians should also have a heart longing for that beautiful homeland. This longing to be with God forever is one of the clearest marks of genuine faith. A person can know many Bible verses, attend every meeting, and do many good works, yet if heaven is not his greatest hope, his faith is still incomplete. Another person, who may have very little education or outward success, yet if his heart is fixed on being with God forever, that simple longing proves he belongs to Christ. According to the Bible, if a Christian believes in God to hope for the things of this world, he is the biggest loser of all mankind (1 Corinthians 15:19), because he has traded the eternal for the temporary.
But in reality, many Christians have believed in God only because they want to be blessed in this life, but rarely think about Heaven in the future to focus their efforts on that goal. There are also Christians who believe that they have been saved and entering Heaven is a matter of course, so they neglect to make efforts in their spiritual life. These ways of thinking are very dangerous. The Bible commands us clearly: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). This means that every true believer must take heaven seriously and must keep making diligent effort of watching over his life, putting sin to death, and following Jesus faithfully to the end. The Lord Jesus Himself gave a solemn warning: Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). And again: Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able (Luke 13:24). These words are not meant to frighten, but to awaken the careless. The road to heaven is narrow, and only those who keep walking on it faithfully, loving Jesus more than the world, obeying His Word, and longing to be with Him, will reach the end safely.
If a person thinks that he only needs to believe in God to be saved and enter Heaven, then the words “fear and trembling” in the Bible are redundant, even incorrect. But we know that the Bible is not redundant, not incorrect, and it is true forever (1 Peter 1:25). That is why Paul, although he was filled with the Holy Spirit and performed miracles, still had fear and trembling in his efforts to achieve his own salvation and to be able to enter Heaven in the future (1 Corinthians 9:27). If Paul had such a mindset, then we Christians should also try our best to live according to God’s standards so that we can be born again, be sanctified, and in the future, be able to enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, every Christian must take heaven as the greatest goal of life, live every day with serious watchfulness over heart and behavior, fight against sin and pursue holiness, because “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), and trust completely in the grace and blood of Jesus, yet never stop working hard to follow Him faithfully to the end.
(to be continued)