the basic message #E278
8/31/04
One of the hottest bands on the scene today may be "Los Lonely Boys", and their song, "Heaven", more often referred to as "How far is Heaven", is getting plenty of airtime on our local radio stations. Besides liking the song's style, I like the lyrics as well, and they cause me to pose the same question, "How far is Heaven?" While our journey to Heaven is a spiritual, rather than a physical journey, we are physically separated from Heaven until we die. Let's take a look at some of the lyrics:
Save me from this prison
Lord, help me get away
'Cause only you can save me now
From this misery
Well I've been lost in my own place
And I'm getting' weary
How far is heaven?
And I know that I need to change
My ways of living
How far is heaven?
Lord, can you tell me?
In the simple wording of this song, we're
reminded that the Lord is the key to our passage to Heaven, and that we need to
change. I don't know what the Los Lonely Boys meant by "How far is
Heaven", but when I hear those words in the song, I wonder, "What is required of
us as Christians to enter Heaven?" Anyone who has visited this website for
long will know that I am part of a tiny minority in this world that believes
that the Holy Scripture overwhelmingly reminds us of how Christians should live.
I reject the common belief, "just believe and you will be saved" due to the many
words of Jesus that instruct us how to live. How far is
Heaven? It's too far for any of us to travel on our own, but Jesus Christ
provides the transportation that will get us there. The Bible continually
makes references about God being our father and we being his children.
When school children need to get to school, many of them ride the school
bus. The journey to school, like our journey to Heaven, may be impossible
for them to accomplish on their own, hence the need to ride the bus. What
must they do to make the journey to school? Is it all based on the belief
that they need an education? Should they "just believe" that the
teachers will educate them? There are all sorts of beliefs that kids
should have about school, but if they're going to be transported, they have to do
something besides just believe. A school bus would be an unruly and
dangerous place if it weren't for basic rules, and some of the bus accidents
that happen each year are largely due to kids not observing the rules and bus
drivers that fail to enforce the rules.
'Cause I know there's a better place
In this place I'm livin'
How far is heaven?
So I just got to show some faith
And just keep on givin'
How far is heaven?
How far is Heaven for you? A frequently asked question in the "door to door evangelism" business goes, "If you died today, do you know what your eternity will be?" How far is Heaven? Do you wake up in the morning thinking about how you can make your life better for the earthly kingdom of God, but seldom think about others? "So I just got to show some faith and just keep on givin'" is the advice given above, and it's good advice. Modern Christians, I believe, seldom think about eternity anymore. We've become so brainwashed by "easy believism" preachers telling us "we're Heaven bound" that we really don't even consider that it's very possible that we won't see Heaven. I think the average American Christian spends more time planning a special vacation trip than their trip to Heaven. Do you really think God is happy looking down on a people that are so arrogant to automatically assume they're "in"?
How far is your Heaven? Is is a straight path with no obstructions? If so, congratulations- I wish I were you. For the rest of us, the path to Heaven is littered with roadblocks labeled "career", "possessions", "envy", "anger", as well as many others. Make no mistake, friends, when that trumpet sounds and it's time to make that dash towards Jesus, our personal roadblocks will still be there. Some of you will label me as a heretic, but that's okay. Most of you believe that when Jesus returns for his people, he will take care of the details, but Jesus is preparing his people each and every day prior to his return. He left the Holy Spirit with us after his resurrection to help us dismantle those roadblocks, but the Holy Spirit is powerless to help us until we allow him to. What are the labels on your roadblocks between you and Heaven? Gluttony? Porn addiction? Selfishness? The Holy Spirit has dealt with these issues and thousands more in the past 2000 years. It's critically important to understand that you and I can't come up with a human condition that the Holy Spirit hasn't dealt with hundreds, if not thousands of times already. How can I be so confident about this? It's simple- the Holy Spirit works for the factory. When you're a repairman and you work for the factory, you can always contact the designers and engineers that created the product. When the Holy Spirit has a tough case to deal with, he simply calls on the master engineer, God, to help him with a specific human creation. Whether you believe me or not, we each have our role in our individual journey to Heaven. So, how far is your Heaven?