This is an important question on many levels. One must know where he is to know where he is going, in other words one has to have a starting point to have an ending point. Try to go some place with Google maps. You must have a starting point before it can give you an ending point. GPS is the same. To know where we are going spiritually we must also know where we are!
Goals are very important to have as we journey also. They help us to know our progress as we journey. As we travel we may have places to visit, eat, or buy gas. This helps us keep focused on where we want to end up. Like life, goals are important in our spiritual life to know how we are going on our journey toward heaven. In this article let us see where we are along the way toward heaven.
The Book of Ephesians gives us some points to know where we are, let us look at a few. We need to be where all spiritual blessings are 1:3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” These blessings are only “in Christ.” The only way to be “in Christ” is our next point. We need to have redemption through His blood 1:7. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Redemption is the process of buying because of a defect. We are all sinners and if we want to go to heaven the price must be paid for that defect. Christ paid the price for us 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Do we have the inheritance 1:11. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” We must be part of the family to have part in the inheritance. Are you part of the family of God? We must know where we are to have the inheritance. Which leads us to our next point: do we trust Him 1:13? “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that be believed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise.” Do we trust Him, this is part of faith and without faith we cannot please Him Hebrews 11:6. So the place to be is in Christ. Where are you, are you in Christ?
First Peter 2:11, helps to make the point of knowing we are travelers in this life. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul.” We are just pilgrims, travelers toward heaven, this is why it is so important to know where we are going and where we are on the journey. 2 Peter also gives us some points to help us decided where we are. 2 Peter 1:5-7 known as the Christians graces gives us place to launch from for our traveling in our Christian life. Faith is the first one and it must be solid to build upon, virtue, knowledge, the key word of this book, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity. If we have these graces in our life then we are well on our way toward heaven. Peter closes with the idea that we need to be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless 3:14. To make it to heaven we must be without spot and we must be blameless, this can only happen by us being in Christ. Ephesians 5:27, “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having sport, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
The end of our journey then will be as others who have gone before us. They have blazed the trail before us leaving that trail well marked. Hebrews 11:13 states, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims of the earth.” Where were they when they died? They were in the faith. That is where we need to be and ought to be, in faith. John writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Ye saith the Spirit, that they may rest from the labours; and their works do follow them.” Again, this is where we all ought to be and should want to be when death comes knocking on our door, that is “in the Lord.”
Where are you on the journey toward heaven? Some might be closer to the end of their journey than others. Thus we need to know where we are in our journey. Are we taking the steps necessary to make it to the proper destination? We can be just as sure as Paul was, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished by course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
Where are you?
Love, Keith
