There is no other book in the world that speaks so grandly about the God of the heavens and the earth, and so wonderfully about the eternal truths, like the Holy Bible. However, those who study the Word may profess to believe and claim what it says without ever really applying and living accordingly.
I think, the problem with many of our Christians is that we have great head knowledge and big mouth, but when it comes to practical life, we reflect very little of what we believe and profess. This is especially evident when it comes to our belief in heaven.
Do we really believe in heaven? If we truly believe in heaven, we will reflect the following three qualities in our Christian life.
1. Share more rather than store more
The Lord Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, declared, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).
Christ spoke two things, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” and “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
How do we store up for ourselves treasures in heaven?
To His "not so wealthy disciples", the Lord Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:32-34).
To the wealthy believers, Paul wrote, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:18-19).
Whether we are wealthy or not so wealthy, these Scriptures tell us that the way we store treasures in heaven is by giving away our money and material things on earth to help the needy. This may include even helping missions, supporting to spread the gospel and church planting, and contributing to the needs of laborious Christian workers (1 Tim. 5:17; 3 Jn. 5-8).
We who believe in heaven and in eternal rewards, are we seriously considering storing our riches in heaven? Are we living a generous life?
If we really believe that our life is like a “mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (Jas. 4:14); if we truly understand “we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Tim. 6:7); if we certainly know that our life on earth is temporal and heaven is our eternal abode—why then are we worried more about our earthly life and are focused more on storing temporal things rather than sharing them for eternal rewards in heaven?
Of course, we must work and earn our living and not depend on anyone (1 Thess. 4:11-12). It is also good to have some savings for emergencies. But, honestly, where is our heart? Is it focused on earthly things or on heavenly rewards? Are we more anxious about storing or more concerned about sharing? Do we practice generous sharing with the needy and generous contribution to the work of the Lord?
No matter what our claims are about our belief in heaven, it is our generous heart that truly affirms what we believe. Those who really believe in heaven make effort to store their riches therein. Their lives are marked with generosity.
2. Rejoice more rather than mourn more
The book of Ecclesiastes proclaims, “Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (7:2). No one escapes death. Sooner or later, all have to embrace it someday.
However, to a child of God who believes in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, death is not a hopeless experience. The reason Christ died on the cross is so that we would be delivered from the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15). The Scripture declares:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”Christ, the truth, asserted, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (Jn. 11:25).
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:54-55)
To a believer, death on earth is birthday in heaven. Those who die in Christ go home to be with the Lord. How true are these words, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints!” (Ps. 116:15)
For this reason, Paul expressed, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phi. 1:21). How is death profitable? Those who face death as a believer would be delivered from this sinful and miserable world and enter into the eternal presence of our Lord.
If you and I believe this is really true, how do we respond if we know we are going to die? How many of us are scared of death? How many of us love our earthly life and do not want to die at all? It is rightly said, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”
Surely, when the time comes to die, we may feel sad for leaving our loved ones. We may even be afraid to face the pain of death. However, the joy of seeing the face of the Lord and spending our eternity with Him in heaven is stronger than our grief over death. The way we face our death speaks about our real belief in heaven.
Moreover, how do we face the situation when our dear ones die in Christ? Paul wrote, “About those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13).
I think we all have attended the funerals of believers and unbelievers. Do you find any difference? In most funerals, I have observed they both are alike. The way the believers grieve over the death of their dear ones in Christ is like others who have no hope.
God revealed in His word that believers who leave this world “will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:18). Is this good news or bad news? When our dear ones are dying, are we not sending them to our glorious Lord?
I do not mean to say we must not mourn over the death of our beloved ones in Christ. There will be inevitable sadness. However, when we really believe in heaven, the joy of knowing that our dear ones have gone to be with the Lord is stronger than our grief of missing them for a moment.
Whether we face our own death or the death of our beloved ones, the time of death testifies what we really believe about heaven.
3. Grow more in holiness rather than in sin
In his letter to 2 Peter, Peter explained how the current world would be destroyed by fire (2 Pet. 3:7). Since this is going to take place, Peter writes, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13).
In light of the perishing world in which we now live and the coming new world in which we live forever, listen to what Peter exhorts to believers:
“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (2 Peter 3:14)
Also, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:11)This is the message Peter conveyed—since the current sinful world is going to pass away and as we wait for the coming new heavens and the earth, let us live a holy and godly life in this present age.
Sin promises temporal pleasures and offers eternal destruction. But those who love the pleasures of God and eternal heaven would resist yielding to sin and grow more in holiness.
One of the ways Paul motivated believers not to live in sin is by warning them that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Eph. 5:5). It is our love for the kingdom of God, i.e. heaven, which will preserve us from not loving the sinful pleasures of the world.
Do you remember the parable of the hidden treasure? “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt. 13:14).
Here is the point: When we know the infinite value of the kingdom God has freely given to us in Christ Jesus, we will treasure it more than anything else. We love it more than momentary worldly passions and passing sinful pleasures. We give up anything for heaven's sake.
Additionally, Peter wrote that those who live a godly life and produce godly qualities in life, they would be provided a rich “entrance into eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11). It is our heavenly vision which will enable us to walk in godly qualities in this ungodly world.
But those who love the world, the worldly pleasures and sinful acts, and yet profess about their belief in heaven, they are actually blinded in their eyes about the glory of heaven.
Our endeavor to resist sin and to grow in holiness in light of the glory of heaven certainly does not speak about the attaining of heaven through our good works. No matter what level of godliness we achieve, we go to heaven only because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. And this is the motivation for resisting sinful pleasures and for godly living—that God has given us eternal life in His eternal kingdom.
Therefore, if we really believe in heaven and that the pleasures of God are greater and eternal than the pleasures of sin—are we seeking and growing in God’s holiness? May we heed the exhortation of Paul in Colossians 3:1-4,
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Summary
Do we REALLY believe in heaven?
If we really believe in heaven, we will share more of our wealth and material things rather than store more of them on earth—because in this way we store up our treasures in heaven.
If we really believe in heaven, we will rejoice more rather than grieve more over the death of either ourselves or our loved ones in Christ—because those who die in Christ will rise to live always in the presence of the Lord in heaven.
If we really believe in heaven, we will grow more in holiness rather than in sin—because God is holy and heaven is engulfed with the holiness of God.
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