The Bible makes it clear on countless occasions that we are pilgrims on this earth who have an eternal home after our sojourn here.
In 1 Peter 2: 11, the Bible states: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul”.
This tells us we are on this earth as foreigners; therefore, we need to always remember that we have a place to go some day, whether we like it or not. One day each and everyone of us on this earth would die and take on the spiritual body (soul).
Where are we going after our exile on this earth? That is the question we need to be asking ourselves on a daily basis because we can be called at any time to move from this world to our permanent abode, Heaven or hell. It sounds terrifying but it real.
To qualify to Heaven, we need to have the nature of God to be able to stay with Him and that nature can only be gained through the Blood of Jesus Christ. That means we need to be born again to receive that nature in order to enter into the Kingdom of God in Heaven. John 3:3-“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
After receiving the divine nature or being born again comes the challenge of living according to the Word of God or adapting to the heavenly lifestyle.
Adapting to heavenly lifestyle implies allowing the Holy Spirit to bear His fruits in you. If we fail to bear the fruits of the Spirit here on earth, we will miss Heaven because the fruits refer to the rules or laws of Heaven.
Just as one has to prove to border authorities that they deserve to enter into a country, so must we prove beyond any doubt that we qualify to be in Heaven. This time around, we cannot outsmart God as we might be able to outsmart the Immigration of visa authorities. He sees all and knows all so there is nothing to hide; honesty is the key word here.
The reason a border or immigration officer would take you through a process before giving you a visa is that he needs to be sure that you can comply with the lifestyle or rules of the country you are trying to enter. If you don’t prove to him that you have what it takes then you will not be allowed in.
Galatians 5:22-25 lists out the fruits that we need to bear by which we adapt to the lifestyle in Heaven. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
These fruits of the Spirit ought to be manifest in the lives of Christians in their day-to-day activities. They need to keep in step with the Spirit by allowing him to produce those fruits through them.
A Christian is mandated to love both God and man; promote peace at all times, forbear of tolerate others, knowing that God tolerates him/her always; must kind to all manner of people, must be good, faithful to God and others, gentle and must control him/herself at all times.
Bible says there is no law against such things. In other words there is no condemnation for those who live in step with the Spirit.
Christians cannot live any how on this earth and still expect to make it Heaven without learning the way of life in Heaven. The Holy Spirit is in charge in that City so anyone who wants to be there ought to keep in step with Him by adopting the lifestyle He teaches us on this earth.
A Christian who is not used to the culture or lifestyle of Heaven would be an odd person there; in actual fact he will not enjoy his/her stay there since it is not part of him/her.
If we keep to the sinful nature we will be living according to it and the Kingdom of God would not be a welcome place for us.
It is time to adapt to the lifestyle of heaven and this calls for obedience to the Spirit, else it might be too late.
By Theodore M. Viwotor