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Am I good enough to go to heaven?
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Mom went over to the slow cooker where the Thanksgiving turkey had been all day. As the lid was taken off a shriek filled the air. The slow cooker had been unplugged hours before to make room for uncle Bob's famous sweet potato soufflé.
Tears filled Mom's eyes. "My dinner is ruined!" she cried. Dad chimed in, "Oh, honey. I am sure that it is good enough." However, the half baked turkey was not good enough, nor was it safe to eat.
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In our lives we probably hear or say those words often. "Oh, the house isn't that dirty. It is good enough for now." "My job was done well enough for today. I am going home!"
What about when it is quitting time here in this life? Are we sure that we are going home to heaven? Are we good enough?
We may be individuals who settle for good enough more than we like to admit. However, we have a God who doesn't settle for anything but perfection. Jesus says, "Be perfect . . . as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).
So are we good enough to go to heaven?
God takes the "lid" off of our hearts and tells us
what he sees. "Every inclination of [the] heart is evil from
childhood" (Genesis 8:21). Even if we try hard and work
at being kind, good, and perfect we still fail. "For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
So, now what will happen to us? Is our hope to
live forever in heaven with God ruined?
Thanks to Jesus Christ our Savior the answer is,
"No." We do have hope because Jesus has forgiven our
sins by dying on the cross, and he has declared us to be
innocent by rising from the dead. Because of what Jesus
has done, every time that God looks at us he sees us "holy
in his sight without blemish and free from accusation"
(Colossians 1:22).
Are you good enough to go heaven? Jesus did not just make you good enough but he made you perfect! Through faith you receive "the gift of God [which] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 3:23).
A little boy was attending his first wedding. After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?" "Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he had an answer so quickly. "How do you know that?" "Easy," the little boy said. "All you have to do is add it up, like the pastor said: "4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."
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A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to
swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal, its throat was very small. The little girl state that
Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically
impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah." The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"
The little girl replied, "Then you ask him."
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