Christian Perspectives – Our ultimate goal is not heaven

May 20, 2016 · 0 Comments

Rev. Bob McLellan

Grace Church of the Nazarene

There came a day when the disciples of Jesus asked Him how they should pray, and He replied, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, His focus was not on helping people get ready to escape earth and get to heaven. His focus was on empowering them to live in a way that established His Kingdom here on this earth.

Far too many individuals are looking for the bailout day when Jesus returns.

Instead we ought to be engaged in the process that allows His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

There is an insidious myth that prevails today which states our world is so influenced by sin and evil there is nothing we can do about it.

Nothing we can do about it? That thinking does not reflect the kind of God I serve or the power of God that is available to work in and through His people!

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus and recorded his prayer for the people, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, {21} to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

God’s power at work in us is limited only by our faith and willingness to implement it.

Jesus’ challenge in Matthew 28:19-20 to His disciples was, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Myles Munroe, in his book, “God’s Big Idea: Reclaiming God’s Original Purpose For Your Life” wrote, “He assigned us to tell others about the Kingdom of Heaven that has come to Earth, and then, once their hunger for the Kingdom has been stirred up, to tell them how they can enter the Kingdom through faith in Christ. We talk so much about ‘witnessing’ to people to try to get them into Heaven. That is the wrong emphasis. When we discover the ministry of Jesus Christ, we discover that he was not after trying to get people into Heaven. He was bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth and was after getting people into the Kingdom.”

What you think and what you believe and what you say and the intentions of your heart matter, because they impact your actions which determine the outcomes in your life.

Rather than reciting the Lord’s Prayer it is time to collaborate in the process of making its components become a reality in our world.

Our ultimate goal is not to get to heaven. That is a by-product of a life lived in full commitment to God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. It is a gift of God which comes to us through our decision to accept and apply the benefits of Jesus’ death on the Cross of Calvary to our personal life and daily living out the transformation He has made possible.