My newly widowed mother-in-law recently bumped into an acquaintance at the store. The woman approached her and kindly said, "I'm so sorry to hear you lost your husband," to which my mother-in-law joyfully replied, "I didn't lose him! I know exactly where he is!" 

 
It sounds like the punchline to a joke, right? But she wasn't trying to be funny. Her husband isn't lost in some supernatural afterlife. Her husband is in Heaven and knowing that brings her great peace and joy. 

 
My mother-in-law shared that story at her husband's funeral last month, and she told it with a smile on her face. Wouldn't you love to be as confident as she is about the eternal resting place of your loved one, or even for yourself? It's heartbreaking to lose a loved one to death, but tragic when you don't understand what happens after you die. 

 
The unknowns of death can be unsettling, even scary. But listen to me, friend. You can know where you are going to go when you die. You do not need to wait until you get there to see where you end up. In fact, please don't!   

 
There are a lot of misconceptions about what happens after we die. And since not many people come back from the dead to report on what happened after they died (and would we even believe them if they did?), whatever you think about life after death involves a certain amount of faith, aka, believing something you can't see. Specifically, believing what the Bible says about death, even when we don't have proof that we can see with our eyes or touch with our hands.   

Some believe there are lots of different paths to get to Heaven. Yet John 14:6 says otherwise. "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" 

Others believe you get to Heaven by doing good deeds. Yet Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved [from sin and punishment for your sin], through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Hmm. So, clearly, we can't "good work" ourselves into Heaven. Then how? How can we be confident that we are going to Heaven when we die? Here comes the good news! The Bible doesn't just tell us what doesn't get us to Heaven. It also tells us exactly what we need to do to get there. And better yet, it's not hard! Give me a few minutes, and I'll walk you through it.   

For starters, understanding how to get to Heaven begins by knowing something prevents us from getting there on our own. That something is our sin. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned," and in Romans 3:10, "No one is righteous—not even one."   

 
Most of us aren't going to disagree with the fact that we all sin. However, I think there is some misconception about "big sins versus little sins." We like to compare our sins to others'. I've never done something terrible like kill someone, so this little white lie is no big deal. Murderers don’t go to Heaven, but certainly, my little lie wouldn’t keep me from getting in. (Sound familiar?) Regardless, it doesn't matter what we think about sin. It's God's opinion that matters and He says in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." Death? That sounds like a problem. Don't worry; this is where it starts getting good! The rest of the verse says, "but the gift of God is eternal life [Heaven] through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment for sin is eternal death, but God offers us a gift that seems almost too good to be true.  

Many of us wouldn’t consider ourselves bad or sinful or in need of saving. And humanly speaking, this thinking may be correct. But when you line it up with the Bible’s teaching, we all have a sin condition. It's not just that we sin but that we can do nothing to remove ourselves from our sinful nature. Millard Erickson said, “...Sin is not defined in terms of what other human beings may regard as unpleasant. It is rather, a matter of failure to love, honor, and serve God. Thus, even the likeable and kindly person is in need of the gospel of new life, as much as is any obnoxious, crude, and thoughtless person.” 

So whether we feel like a sinner or not, we all fall short of loving, honoring, and serving God like He calls us to. Yet God knew this would be the case and made a provision for it. Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." In other words, through divine intervention, God has taken care of our sin problem.  

God has taken care of it. I don’t need to do something, or a lot of good somethings, to get myself to Heaven. We only need to believe Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Read this: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved [from sin that leads to eternal death]. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." That, my friends, is straight out of Romans 10:9-10.   

Jesus died on our behalf. He did the hard part. What we have to do requires the faith I mentioned earlier. We need to believe in Him, trust that His death covered the payment for our sins and that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.   

Did I lose you there? Let me explain it in fewer words. 

1. We all sin.   
2. The result of our sin is eternal death. 
3. God sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. God's gift to humanity is His Son Jesus' death and resurrection. 
4. Jesus' death pays the death penalty for anyone willing to receive His gift. 
5. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins and God raised Him from the dead and confess this as truth, our eternity in Heaven is secured! 
6. Bottom line: By believing and confessing that Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sins and rose again, I will be saved from my sin and an eternity of death. 

Maybe this all sounds too "religious" for you. I get that. Not all of us are as comfortable with matters of faith as others are. But think about it. Even if I am wrong about this, what have you got to lose by believing that Jesus died on the cross for your sin? But if I am right, think of all you have to gain!   

If what I've shared resonates with you, I encourage you to take the first step in securing your place in Heaven. You can start by saying a simple prayer. Tell God that you know you are a sinner and believe His Son died on the cross for your sins and then rose again. Ask Him to forgive you and to secure your place in Heaven. God hears our prayers spoken in faith. Even when our faith is small, He's still listening. 

Three decades ago, I sat at the base of a mountain in Estes Park, CO, and confessed to God that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. When I asked Him to forgive my sins, I did not know what would happen tomorrow or the next day. But I knew, with absolute certainty, that I would spend eternity in Heaven when I die. And that brings me great peace and hope for my future. I'm not eager for my time here on Earth to be over quite yet, but I don't worry about where I will be when my time is up. 

Friend, this is not one of those decisions that you should put off for another time. None of us know when we will die. So make sure you've resolved the issue of where you will spend your eternity before it’s too late. You don't have to hope and don't need to wonder. You can know with certainty where you will spend eternity. And if I were you, I wouldn't put it off one day longer. 

If anything here made an impact on you, or if you are ready to be certain about where you will spend your eternity and have some questions—please let me know!  I'd love to hear from you!