Remember this old question?—If you were to die today and the Lord asked, “Why should you be allowed into heaven?”—what would you say?

That’s the most important issue in the world and multitudes have the wrong answer. Most would probably say, “Well, I’m trying to live a good life.” Others would say, “I’m not sure.” And there’s an increasingly common answer: “I don’t want to go to heaven. I want to go to hell where the good times are with my friends.”

That’s a fool’s paradise, isn’t it?

One man posted his embittered opinion online, saying, “I’d rather go to hell for an eternity than live for the rest of my life with Christians.” Another said, “My family says that I’ll make it to heaven despite not being a Christian. I think I’d rather go to hell actually. Seems way more fun.” Another said, “I’d rather go to hell where all the cool people are than to go to church for an hour.”

Our hearts ache for the tragic misconceptions surging through our culture.

Hell is a real place where fun, pleasure, and satisfaction will be sad, distant memories.

In contrast, heaven is a real place where we’ll never be bored, sick and tired, or disenchanted.

We can’t take our money, clothes, homes, or cars to heaven—but we can take other people. How, then, can we refocus our mission and look at souls through the lens of eternity, and intentionally share the love of Christ and His true Paradise with them?

Earthly Good

Let’s resolve to be a testimony to everyone we meet. We’re not always able to share the Gospel by means of a formal presentation, but we can let a joyful countenance, a pleasant voice, a Bible verse or a promise of prayer, and a kind attitude go before us.

The Bible says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23). If that’s true, don’t you think the Lord will direct our steps across the pathways of those in need of Him? Consider all of the interactions you have each week, and then ask, how many of them know the Lord?

I believe God places each of His children in unique situations to be examples and witnesses to others who may be reached in no other way. Take Pat Day, for example, and his unique ministry. Pat was a successful race jockey but a raging alcoholic. One night in 1984 in a Miami hotel, he fell asleep drunk. When he awoke, he turned on the television and listened to a preacher who exhorted the audience to give their lives to Christ. Pat fell to his knees in tears and gave himself to the Savior.

“When I got up the next morning and walked outside,” he said, “I had never seen the world look so bright and so beautiful…. It was a radical change.”

Pat rode for the next 21 years and won the Kentucky Derby in 1992. Despite his success as a jockey, Pat’s main concern was for the other jockeys, owners, trainers, and stable hands at Churchill Downs. After his retirement, Pat asked the management to hire a chaplain and build a chapel. His request was quickly approved, and to this day Hall of Famer Pat Day uses his connections and the chapel to actively share Christ in both English and Spanish to the thousands of people who work and visit Churchill Downs.¹

God oversees our steps, leading us in our own individual pathways. We need to say, “Lord, what earthly good can I do today for Your kingdom? Whom can I nudge toward Christ today?”

Heavenly Minded

It’s impossible to sustain a personal evangelistic ministry if we don’t stay heavenly minded. The Bible says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above” (Colossians 3:1-2).

A portion of our thoughts should be devoted to the things of heaven—Christ at the right hand of the Father, the heavenly throne, the choirs of angels, the mansions of glory, the river that flows with crystal waters, and the endless employment and enjoyment God has promised for us. The more we’re heavenly minded, the more we’ll be of earthly good.

Those two desires belong to all of us; we keep them aflame by setting our mind on things above. If we thought of heaven more frequently, we’d grieve for sinners more deeply and share the message of Christ more passionately.

Eternity Focused

In other words, we’d be eternity focused. Our few decades on earth are fleeting, but our eternal prospects are overwhelming. We’re not here to build an empire for ourselves but to extend the kingdom for our Lord.

And while we’re at it, we should contemplate hell too. Evangelist John R. Rice once said, “What a compelling motive we have for prayer, for preaching, for soul winning when we learn that every responsible human being who leaves this world without a definite change in heart, immediately lifts his eyes in hell.”

Keeping an eternal focus requires some self-training and discipline.

Tricia Goyer wrote, “Perhaps you are wondering how it is possible to stay focused on eternity in the midst of everyday life. I understand. Keeping our minds eternally focused is tricky. Life brings distractions: kids and loved ones get sick, chores need to be done, relationships need to be tended. While it’s not easy to focus on eternity, I find that when I look to Christ to help me, He does. I just have to ask.”²

Tricia points to one passage especially helpful in this regard—Hebrews 13:20-21: “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (NIV).

Instead of being intimidated by sharing your faith, be natural about it. Let your testimony follow the groove of your personality as God equips you for doing His will. In this way, a naturalness will begin to take hold as you share Christ with others.

Imagine going to a Bible study in which everyone shared how they came to the Lord.

One fellow says: When I was a teenager I was arrested for drunk driving. My dad bailed me out of jail, got me home and in bed, and the next morning we had a heart-to-heart talk. I was pretty broken up, but he told me that he loved me and so did Jesus. That destroyed whatever self-will I had, and I prayed and asked Christ to come into my life.

Another says: For me, getting an education was everything. I worked day and night to keep up my 4.0 grade point average. I didn’t realize how fatigue was hurting me until one night I simply exploded and threw my books into the wall of my dormitory and screamed. The girl next door heard me and came over to calm me down. As we talked, she pulled a little brochure out of her pocket and asked me if I’d ever heard that God loved me and had a wonderful plan for my life.

A third person recalls: I went to the library for some books on evolution, and I found that one of them was written by a creationist. He had the best arguments of all. I was impressed. A week later I bumped into a friend and told him what I had discovered. He invited me to church, and six months later during a small group study in Christian apologetics, the whole circle prayed with me, and I became a Christ follower.

Notice how many natural avenues there are for evangelism—a father’s love, a scientist’s book, a dormmate’s concern, a friend’s invitation, a small group’s discussion.

In light of eternity, we have so much work that needs to be done on earth for the sake of heaven. We’re on a mission. Let’s start looking at those in our pathway through the prism of eternity!

Sources:

¹Jeffrey Lee Pucket, “For Kentucky Derby-Winning Jockey Pat Day, It’s His Life After the Win That Means Most,” Courier Journal, April 19, 2018, https://www.courier-journal.com.
²Tricia Goyer, Walk It Out (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2017), 80.