Is that Heaven bound?

Yesterday I was talking with some co-workers and one of them began to share some things regarding his son and daughter-in-law, but more specifically his granddaughter.  He was telling us that his granddaughter, five years old, participated in her first triathalon in Lake Tahoe, which she took first place in.  He also talked about how her family is very active and health conscious in their eating habits.  As he shared these things a thought crossed my mind, a thought that has crossed my mind several times over recent years.  When it’s all said and done, how much of this health consciousness will they be able to take with them into eternity?  In other words, “is that heaven bound?”  Over the years I’ve thought of people that have been very successful in this life according to the worlds standards.  I think about how they invested so much of their time, energy and resources to accomplish different things and are known to be the best at them, whether it is in being physically fit and healthy like the five year old I mentioned above, or being the best on Wall Street, being the most successful football coach of all time, or being recognized as the most renowned scientist of all time.  When I think of these people I find myself asking where Jesus was in their lives.  I wonder if Jesus was the center of their life in all they said and did, or was He merely an after-thought, if even that, or someone that was routinely put on the back-burner or pushed into the background as they pursued their success in whatever endeavor they were striving for.

It’s interesting to see that people seem to live life as if there is nothing on the other side of death, or that they are not concerned about their eternal destination.  Most everything they seem to do is either centered around themselves and what they can accomplish in this life, not realizing that the greatest majority if not all of these things will stay here when the die.  We need to be asking ourselves, is what we are doing and focusing and striving to obtain in this life “heaven bound”?  Is it stuff that have eternal value?  If you find that the majority of what you are pursuing or striving to attain is not “heaven bound” or of any eternal value, then you need to ask yourself which eternal destination are you heading in?  It’s time that we take the time to do some self-evaluation against the standards laid out in the Bible and see if we are even heading in the right direction.  The trumpet sounding the return of Jesus hasn’t happened yet, so you have time to re-evaluate some things and make the necessary changes to ensure your eternal destination in Heaven, but don’t wait too long because that trumpet is about to sound at any time.

Again, are the things your are pursuing and striving to attain, whether materialistically, physically, relationally, or in the area of status and reputation, “heaven bound”?

John Johansson