What is the 1 thing we will take to Heaven?
An everyday story from the beach…
About the 1 thing we will take to Heaven …
They come well prepared…
Packed for paradise…
Paradise you ask?
To me…
There are few spots on earth closer to paradise…
Than a beach next to a big body of water.
A family arrives on the beach…
They are well packed for this beach paradise…
They bring a tent…
A cooler…
Beach chairs…
Sand toys…
Food…
They have everything they think they will need…
They start to put up the tent.
Brothers…
Sisters…
Cousins…
Teenagers all…
“Put the top on first…”
“No, not like that!”
The sound of a rip…
The top of the tent tears…
“That’s it!” says the oldest teenager…
“I’m not having anything to do with you guys!”
He unfolds a chair and sits down forcefully…
Arms crossed…
Head shaking…
His face a frown.
Next dad arrives…
“That’s my chair!”
The teenager jumps up.
“You guys are so stupid,” dad yells at the teens…
He points…
And growls…
He yells…
And the tent goes up.
Ready for a perfect day.
The cooler is opened…
Food set out…
But the day is anything but perfect.
They had packed for paradise….
Bringing all the things they thought they needed…
But what did they really bring?
They brought themselves…
Who they really were.
How easy it is for me to be the same when I think about heaven…
How will I pack for paradise?
What is the 1 thing I will take to Heaven?
Will I bring my good deeds?
My kind thoughts?
The things I think I have done for God?
Will God care about any of those things?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23
God looks beyond all those things…
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
God looks at the heart…
He looks at the soul…
And in the end that is all we will take from this life…
That’s all we need to pack for paradise.
That is the 1 thing we will take to Heaven …
Our heart…
Our soul…
And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
For it is not through our preparation that we will enter heaven…
But through the grace of God…
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10
