We Will Decide Our Own Heaven or Hell Now in This Life

Our own heaven or hell.

Our destination after death is either heaven or hell. That's our Christian teaching. The good news is that we will be the one to decide our own eternal destination. Jacob, David, Isaiah--these men of God, among others, had made their decision to obey and follow the God of Abraham, the God of the Holy Bible. Judas, on the other hand, turned his back on Jesus Christ. He even decided to betray our Lord Jesus. Judas' own hell-destination was just the result of his own decision. Yes, we will be the one to decide our own heaven or hell now in this life!

Our eternal destination is one that requires both action and affirmation.

As we won't know when death shall snatch away our soul from our body, so we need both action and affirmation that we already have heaven's ticket and that our ride for our eternal journey is ambulance-ready. Now, what action thus do we need to take? Well, first off, we need to know heaven's environment which can be described as the place of God, the city of holiness and peace. In contrast, earth, our present realm, is chaotic, satanic, and awfully sinful. By action we mean our wearing a garment of salvation, a "heaven-suit" or a "suit of holiness." Such suit is priceless, for it is heaven-manufactured. This is how the Apostle Paul had taught us about it in 2 Corinthians 5:2-4:

For indeed in this house [referred to our body] we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent [again, referred to our physical body], we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

Yes, we will have a "dwelling from heaven," therefore we need to be "clothed," [a heaven-suit, which is definitely unlike NASA's spacesuit!] because our "mortal clothing," (our total being, both spiritual and physical) is going to be swallowed up by immortality.

What is this heaven-suit or clothing we and the Apostle Paul are talking about? As mentioned, heaven is a place of perfect holiness, the kind that we don't possess--even church pastors, leaders, the Pope, don't have such clothing of perfect and heaven-proof holiness. Since we need to act and right now for death is coming as it is just a breath away, then we need to grab one heaven-suit for me and one for you. And action is the only way to grab it. For we must decide our own heaven or hell now in this life--right now!

But how?

We need a heaven-suit or a clothing of holiness and we need it right now, for death comes like a thief in the night.

How to have a clothing of holiness? Well, let's do a little logic here: heaven is holy, but we are not. So how to have a heaven-compliant holiness? [Ask Pope Francis, and he will tell you he's pro-gay!] My simple answer is that I always tried to be perfectly holy, but the power of sin continues to make me a potential candidate to help populate hell. I'm telling you the truth: we cannot be made holy through our own efforts, contrary to the belief of most religious leaders through out the world. Here's the declaration of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:15-19 about his being imperfect in this life, like you and me:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.... So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Our problem is that we don't believe that heaven requires a God-approved suit of holiness (or robe of righteousness), for we want to create our own brand of holiness such as tithing or regular church attendance.

I have this reflection: life is really full of surprises, and death may somehow interfere with our plans and dreams for our life. Yes, it is simply because we don't own our life. Someone Bigger, our living God and Creator, gave it to me and to you as well--and for free!

I watched "Hereafter" on TV and heard one actor in the movie (location: at Paris) saying that death is simply the turning off of the "lights", the unplugging, so to speak. I visited Paris and I noticed our tour guide proudly claiming to be an atheist and that he guesstimated of around 30% of Parisians do have his religious convictions. Whatever religious persuasion do we embrace, the truth is that we will all die, and that the question why and where will we be going is intelligent and thus needing a satisfactory answer.

Certainly, we will decide our own heaven or hell now in this life. Our problem is that we don't believe that heaven requires a God-approved suit of holiness to be able to live there forever.

Life belongs God, even natural food supplements cannot prolong it without Him approving.

While still alive, it is better to take Omega 3 and other natural food-supplement products (drinking alkaline water regularly is proven scientifically to be beneficial to our health!) and to have a regular physical exercise, since modern man's diet and his sedentary lifestyle are factors that have reduced effectively his lifespan on earth. These are all that we can do: have a good sleeping habit, a healthy diet, and a regular physical exercise--the rest belongs to God.

Your life after death therefore, is all yours to decide--and right now!

Since life belongs to God, we therefore need to follow His word in order to be assured of heaven.

We need to act right now, if we don't want to die a hell-assured death. What we need is heaven's suit, which is also termed in Scriptures as the robe of righteousness and the garments of salvation. Observe Isaish 61:10:

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Your life after death requires a robe of righteousness that is Christ's.

Grab eternal life right now for yourself by having heaven's suit or robe of righteousness which is in Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord, according to the Holy Bible. This is what the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 1:30:

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

The New Living Translation Bible makes an interesting rendering of Romans 4:4-8, which talks about the blessedness of a man whose righteousness was given to him:

When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”

Paul said that Christ is our wisdom and righteousness. How to have eternal life then, and now?

The answer is simple: Have Christ by faith, for He is your heaven-approved Righteousness.

By trusting in the Scriptures, accept Christ by faith right now by a simple prayer; the prayer of asking Him to save your soul from hell and forgive you of your sins--and His Spirit will start to dwell in your whole being, if you truly have believed in Him and in what you have asked from Him. Then your body will become God's temple. It happened to the thief. After praying, Christ answered: "Today, you will be with me in paradise."

Do you want affirmation of your eternal destination in heaven? Then come to Christ by faith and experience Romans 8:16: "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God."

Faith in Christ is the price you need to pay in acquiring heaven's suit, which is your robe of righteousness, your assurance of salvation. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE." (John 3:16).

While permanent residence in heaven is simply our decision to believe in Christ, our destination in hell on the other hand, is simply our decision to reject Christ in our heart. Indeed, we ourselves will decide our own heaven or hell now in this life.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

What do you think?