I’m pretty sure that when he drew this particular comic strip, Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis didn’t think it would become an educational tool. But the moment I saw it, my spidey sense tingled and I snapped a photo with my iPhone.
Pastis is criticizing Jesus followers here and even if you agree with him, I hope you’re open-minded enough to read on as I tell you the truth about this faith.
1. Going to church will NOT get you, or anyone else, into Heaven. This very common misconception has no connection with following Jesus.
Don’t get me wrong; attending regular services is a great idea. At church you can learn who God is, why He is passionately interested in YOU and how you can become the person He created you to be.
Oh, and along the way, you’ll learn exactly what Heaven is, why it’s the best place to be when this life ends and how you can make that happen.
But it doesn’t matter how often you attend church; on its own, it still won’t get you to Heaven.
2. In theory, cleaning up your act can get you into Heaven. But what does that mean? I can tell you right now that it means, way, WAY more than putting an end to drinking, swearing and carousing.
In fact, Jesus of Nazareth — whom many people believe is God’s Son — says “you must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect”.
I feel quite safe in writing that no one on this planet except Jesus has ever, EVER come close to that standard.
So, how are you feeling now about your chances of qualifying for Heaven on your own efforts?
3. Are there judgemental, “religious” people in Heaven? Nope. Not even one. The people who arrive there after this life ends are transformed; ALL their character flaws are deleted, leaving only the best behind to live in eternity with their Creator.
In fact, think of the people in your life who you most admire, who you love spending time with, who inspire and encourage you, who bring you joy. Those are the kind of people in Heaven.
So after all this, how do you get to Heaven? It’s simple: God offers you Jesus — His life, His groundbreaking teachings, His remarkable compassion, His sin-destroying sacrificial death, His life-restoring resurrection — as a gift. All you need to do is accept that gift.
When you say yes to the gift of Jesus, He enters your soul and starts the life-long process of making you into the person God created you to be. That process finally finishes when this life ends and you enter into eternity with Him.
Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
Hi, Frank. As you sound pretty clued up about heaven, would you please describe it to me and explain how you know? Thanks.
Thanks for your comment. Jesus taught his followers to ask God for His will to be done, “on earth as it is in Heaven”. Jesus apparently thought Heaven is a good place–a place where people want to go. Since He thought so, that’s certainly good enough for me.
Well, thinking is one thing, knowing is something completely different.
But what exactly did Jesus say about heaven, can you recall?
I’m sure you know all that Jesus said about Heaven, but since I’m writing for the benefit of people who are open to spirituality, here are just a few of Jesus’ statements about Heaven:
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (from ‘John’, one of four biographies of Jesus’ physical life on earth).
This is the bread that comes down from Heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. (Also from ‘John’).
The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches (from ‘Matthew’, another of the biographies of Jesus).
The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (from ‘Matthew’).
The kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth (from ‘Matthew’).
These are all very nice adjectives that seem designed to make us yearn but don’t actually tell us anything.
It’s bit like telling someone living in a run down government housing project about Vegas.
What want to know is
a) Exactly what it is like
b) How do you know?
As in how do manage to interpret anything from the extremely nebulous outline in the gospels.
Thanks
Thanks for your comments. It’s hardly a secret that no one knows for absolute certainty what Heaven is like. No one. And I’m fine with that, as are many millions and millions of others. (That said, I wrote more about Heaven in these blogs: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-kW, http://wp.me/p2wzRb-nH and http://wp.me/p2wzRb-lb.)
Serious Jesus followers trust that Heaven is altogether good because His words make it clear that He thinks it’s altogether good. And that’s all I need to know. 🙂
So, faith then, not evidence.
And how can you be so sure the words accredited to the biblical character Jesus were actually spoken by him?
Following Jesus has always been a mix of faith and evidence. Always. And since you’re veering into what’s called apologetics (the branch of theology concerned with the defence or proof of Christianity) I suggest you visit these websites, which specialize in that subject:
http://www.carm.org
http://www.ReasonableFaith.org
Apologetics has always been outside the mandate of Frank’s Cottage. Thanks.
We’re all going through The Potter’s hands, undergoing transformation. Thanks for sharing.