There seems to be some opposing ideas concerning how much assurance we can have about our final destination after death. Some people say that we can have no assurance at all about going to heaven, while others say that no matter what we do, once we are saved, that God’s mercy will prevail. We can do anything we want and still go to heaven. Let me say that I am not judging anyone. I am not called to judge, but to love. Judging is above my pay grade.
To me, to think that I am assured of heaven regardless of my sinful behavior, relying totally on the love and mercy of God is a bit presumptuous. It is like believing that I can eat and drink all I want all of the time and not become fat or an alcoholic. To think that I can do serious sin and rely only on God to save me is irrational and unrealistic.
Yet, being a good person and believing in Jesus, while being quite assuring is not a one hundred percent guarantee of a future in heaven. Jesus said that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom, only those who do the will of my Father.” And just what is the will of God? In general, it is that we love God and each other by following the Ten Commandments and The Sermon on the Mount. But what about God’s specific will for me?
What if I do great in the general sense and fail to follow his specific will for me? How can I be sure that I am following his specific will for me? How do I even know what that is? Thomas Merton, the author of The Seven Story Mountain, his autobiography, said that even he wasn’t always sure that he was following God’s will. His prayer was simple. He prayed that even if he didn’t always know and do God’s will that having the desire to follow it was pleasing to God.
In our humility, questioning the following of God’s will, we can please God by following his general will and desiring and seeking to follow his specific will for us. “I want to follow Jesus.” I think this greatly pleases “Our Father, who art in heaven…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done…” Living a life pleasing to God is a good start.
“May the Lord bless and keep you. May he let his face shine upon you, be gracious to you and give you his peace.”
