An inside look at the interview all people must pass to get into heaven

The other day I was picking up my office when I came across an unsigned baptism certificate that I was supposed to give to a friend I baptized... a few months ago. So I shot him a quick text, "Hey man, I've got your baptism certificate. Don't let me forget to give it to you, because you can't get into heaven without it."

Photo courtesy of Chris Jones at Flickr.com

He's new to church, but he caught on pretty quick. He told me he would pick it up and asked if he needed anything else. I told him he needed three references. Then our conversation sparked up an interesting question. I asked him, "What do you think the interview for heaven would look like?" And his answer painted a perfect picture of how so many people view heaven and eternal life. He said,

"You sit in the waiting room for 30 min and see people walk out sad and then a lady calls your name. Then you walk through a door to a bland office. God is sitting behind a desk with a yellow folder with your name on it. He asks why heaven wants you. You try to explain, but then he says, 'Yeah, but I see here that you watched a lot of porn.' Then he pulls out a pen and begins to write in your file."

His words perfectly capture the expectation that people have today. They imagine heaven to be the kind of place where, as Melody Bettie puts it, "(we are) expected to be more, do more, give more, and not ask anything in return."

We have created an expectation that eternity begins with some sort of formal judgement, where you sit with your fingers crossed hoping you're good enough to get in. It's an idea we've gotten from many sources, not the least of which are some pastors who have perhaps poorly communicated what God's grace looks like.

The truth is, while the Bible has much to say about the transition from this life to the next, the message is abundantly clear. Eternal life is simple. There are no waiting rooms, no interviews, no yellow folders with your name on them. It begins and ends with where you put your trust.

Perhaps the best example of this can be found in the Bible. While Jesus is hanging on a roman cross. A thief hanging on a cross next to him, who wouldn't pass any interview anywhere, says, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And Jesus responds, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise." It's that simple.

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Warmly,
Tim