How Do I Get To Heaven? Just How Good Do I Have To Be?
Have you ever done something that you know inside is wrong? Have you ever disobeyed your parents? Or told a lie, or taken something that belongs to someone else, or even been mad at someone without a reason. Weve all messed up and done stuff like that, this is what the Bible calls Sin. Many people believe that if theyre good they will go to Heaven, but the Bible says that no one can ever be good enough to get to Heaven! It says that Every sinner deserves to die, and we are ALL sinners, this means that we All deserve to die.
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:22
According to the law . . .
without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
This means that without punishment, or blood, we cant be forgiven, thats why Jesus came from Heaven. He Loves us so much thatHe wanted us to have a way to be forgiven from our sins; He didnt want us to die!
Jesus came from Heaven, was born as a baby and grew up on earth, just like all of us! But, because Jesus is also God, He never sinned, not even once! He was perfect in every way so that He could die and take the punishment we were supposed to get.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says
God saved you by His grace when youbelieved.
And you cant take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
This is like when you were born, you were not born because you had done anything good, you werent even around yet! Your parents had you because they love you and wanted you, and now that youre getting older and can understand how much your parents love you, you want to obey them and do what they say so they will be proud of you and youll make them happy.
This is how it is with God, He loved us so much that He sent Jesus to save us, and now that we understand that He loves us so much that He came from Heaven and He died in our place, we should want to please Him too, and really make Him proud of us.
This would be like if your big Brother had seen you do something bad, like say you were throwing a ball in the house when you knew you shouldnt be, and you knocked over an expensive lamp! When your Dad found out about it and was going to punish you, your Brother took the punishment for you so you wouldnt have to. In this same way, Jesus took our punishment when he died on the cross for us. Now THATS Love!
ButJesus didnt just die for us, you see, Jesus rose from the dead and walked out of the grave to show that sin and death no longer has any power over us! And although we may die here on Earth, He will bring us back to life in Heaven and will bring us back to live with Him on the New Earth!
If you believe in Jesus, and trust that He took your punishment for your sin, you will go to Heaven.
You should talk toJesus. Praying is not some big deal that only grown ups can do,praying is just talking to God, like you would talk to your brother, sister, or your best friend. You don’t have to kneel to talk with God. You can talk to Him anywhere, anytime, about anything! Tell Him how your day went; ask for help when you feel scared or when youre doing something hard. Tell Him youre sorry if youve done something bad, and then try not to do it again.
Gods not going to kick you out of Heaven because you did something bad, not if you have put your trust in Jesus to save you. We all make mistakes, even after we become a Christian, but we have to try to do what is right, what we know inside our heart that God would want us to do.
Its like your Mom or Dad, they wouldnt kick you outside to sleep out in the dark and cold in the yard because you spilled red soda on the new carpet. They may be disappointed in you that you didnt listen when they told you to stay at the table and dont takeyour drinkon the new carpet, but they love you, and will most likely discipline you and not let you have red soda for a while, but they will still let you live inside the nice warm house with them where you belong. And you will still be their child, no matter what!
If you believe Jesus loves you, and you want to live for Him and go to live with Him in Heaven one day, you can ask Him something like this:
Jesus, I love You,
And I thank You for taking my
Punishment for me so I can live.
Please forgive me and come into my heart
And help me live my life the way You want me to,
The way I should. And take me to live with You in Heaven someday.
Amen!
