If we live long enough, we will most likely experience moments of success and moments of failure. We all love the feeling of success and the high that we get when we do well. The feeling of failure isn’t as well received. It can be a real punch to the gut and knock us off our pedestals.
Failure can be a result of not trying, not caring, or a general incompetence. However, sometimes people give it their best shot and still fail. Failing a test is one thing, but failing at life and ending up in Hell for all eternity is another. So how do we guarantee that we won’t fail the ultimate test in life?
We need to remember that God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, we send ourselves. If we find ourselves in Hell, it’s just because the road we chose in life took us there. We all have the free will to go in any direction we want. We can either follow the light of Christ or our own agendas. Our jobs, leisure activities, friends, and families should all help lead us to be a better person and also lead us toward God. Jesus once said, “Anyone who loves their mother or father more than me is not worthy of me.” While we should love our families, if they are leading us away from Heaven, we should make adjustments or cut them out of our lives. The decisions we make and the people we allow in our lives lead us one way or another. Let’s say that I’m going to throw a big party and I give everyone detailed directions to my house. If a guest calls me before the party and is at a wrong address, I would give them directions again to my house and do the best that I can to lead them to me. However, if they keep taking the wrong road and can’t find my house, eventually they will miss the party. No one can say that I caused that person to miss the party. Jesus gave us the directions to Heaven, we just need to stay focused and follow them.
There are many people who need extra help getting to Heaven. Some people don’t know the directions or they have trouble understanding them. We should look out for one another and if we see someone in need, reach out and help them. We are here to serve others and not just ourselves. Getting to Heaven isn’t a competition or a race. In fact, Jesus says that the first are sometimes last and the last are sometimes first. Just because we were successful in worldly matters, doesn’t mean that we will be in a higher status in Heaven.
One of the worst things that could happen to me would be for me to die and find out that I had no impact on the world around me. To discover that I spent my life doing trivial things that only impacted myself and not the lives of others, would make me feel worthless and a failure. That is exactly how we fail the test of life. We each have gifts and talents. Do we use our gifts or let them go to waste? Do we use them to help only ourselves, or do we use them to help others?
God would love to see us all rejoicing with Him in Heaven, but we have to not only want it, but also act like we want it. I may say that I want to be healthier, but if I continue to pig out on ice cream and candy, I will never get to where I want to be. Stay focused on the goal and make attaining Heaven our number one priority in life. Be a servant and use our talents to help others and we will find fulfillment in this life and the next.
