In our quasi-Christian North American culture, this expectation runs rampant. But what if we’re not all going to heaven or a better place?

Jesus Himself said the road to heaven is narrow and few find it. Just recently I attended a funeral for a lady who was so turned off by religion and angry at God that, when dying of cancer, she would not even permit the hospital chaplain to visit her or let her Christian friends pray with her.

We have high expectations, but what if our expectations hinge on the choices we’re making now? What if they hinge on a choice that we as Christians aren’t even considering?

The Rich Young Ruler

In Mark 10:17-22, the rich young ruler asked Jesus the question that many of us ponder today, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus responded, “You know the commandments.…”

“ ‘Teacher,’ he [the ruler] declared, ‘all these I have kept since I was a boy.’

Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ He said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’ ”

In other words, the rich young ruler’s thinking went something like this, “I’m religious, so I should be good to go. I’m a good person, yet something doesn’t seem right.”

Abram's Example

Abram, like the rich young ruler, also had everything. He was wealthy and successful. He lived in the most developed part of the world. Archaeologists tell us that he may have even lived in a two-storey home with indoor plumbing. His wife, Sarai, was so beautiful that two kings wanted her (Genesis 12:14; 20:1).

In addition, Abram had servants to spare. He lacked only one thing, a son. Despite his success, he was childless in a culture that valued children (especially a male heir) higher
than anything else. It was precisely on this point that God tried him.

God said, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you” (Genesis 12:1-2).

Decades passed and Abram had followed God’s instructions, but God appeared to not be fulfilling His promise. On several occasions, Abram attempted to accomplish God’s promises on his own. He considered adopting his most trusted servant, Eleazar, but God stepped in and said, “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir” (Genesis 15:4).

Later, Abram even agreed with Sarai’s plan that corresponded with the culture of the time and took Hagar, Sarai’s servant, as a concubine so that he could have children with her, a form of surrogate parenthood. Hagar became pregnant and their son, Ishmael, was born.

Fruit of the Promise

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and changed his name to Abraham. Genesis 17:15-18 tells us that God told him, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.“

“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ And Abraham said to God, ‘If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!’ ”

God always keeps His promises, and sure enough, Sarah and Abraham had their son Isaac right on schedule, born to a mother incapable of bearing children and to a father who never thought the day would come.

Several years later, God again came to Abraham. He asked him to do something we in our culture can’t understand, but which Abraham could. The pagan culture he grew up in sacrificed children to the gods. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:2).

Years before, Ishmael and Hagar had left because of the fighting and jealousy between Sarah and Hagar, and now God wanted Abraham to give Him his only remaining child, the only child he and Sarah had, the child of God’s promise. Abraham obeyed.

Parting company with his servants before he and Isaac climbed the mountain where Isaac was to die, Abraham told them, “We will go and we will return.” On the mountain top, they built an altar, the wood was placed on it, and Isaac voluntarily became the sacrifice.

When Abraham raised his hand to slay his son, God intervened. “ ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ He said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son’ ” (Genesis 22:12).

Abraham expected God to bring Isaac back to life (see Hebrews 11:19). He didn’t know exactly what was going to happen or how it would unfold. All he knew was that Isaac would be alive when it was over. Abraham believed God would make it all work out.

Is it possible that the events in Abraham’s life were designed by God to lead up to this point? Abraham had one crucial lesson to learn, and we are no different. Abraham was successful by human standards on his own before he chose to follow God on the long journey.

He only lacked one thing. Abraham desperately wanted a son. It was the one thing he desired most, and yet he was completely incapable of acquiring it on his own.

By human standards, we too can be successful without following God. However, there is one thing none of us can do. We cannot produce a character like God’s. Just as it was impossible for Sarah to have a baby in her old age, it is fundamentally impossible for us to change our nature (see Jeremiah 13:23).

A Subtle Deception

The delusion of religion is that it lowers the standard of what God’s character is actually like. (Note the contrast between the religion of the religious elite in Jesus’ day, and the exalted walk to which Jesus called them in Matthew 5.) And then, after having lowered the standard, the delusion leads us to believe we can make it on our own.

The undertone of most religions is that you cannot even get to God or the gods until you first become good. Herein lies the failure of religion and the subtle deception many Christians find themselves laboring under.

Abraham desired to have a son and had the will and determination to make it happen at any and all costs. He even wished God could be satisfied with Ishmael. We may have the desire to be good, and may even try everything to achieve it. Recognizing that even our best efforts fall short, we hope God can be satisfied with less than perfect.

The root of this deceptive thinking is unbelief. We simply do not believe that God can do what He says He will do. It is this unbelief that causes us to make choices we think will make us “better” faster.

Unbelief will even make things opposed to God’s clear instructions appear logical—like taking a second wife to have a child. Unbelief is what keeps us out of heaven.

Christ will Lead Us

What must I do to be saved if I find myself an unbeliever? I must let go of all my baggage, ideas, and opinions in order to follow Christ.

He will lead me on a journey that will end with a mountain top realization that despite all the odds and impossibilities: Jehovah Jireh—”The LORD Will Provide.”

Do not worry about your imperfections. Worry about what path you are on. Jesus bids you, “Come and follow Me” (Matt. 4:19). And you can be “certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

It’ s a lot more frightening to follow God into the unknown than it is to be religious, but the results are infinitely better. Heaven is not for everyone. It is only for those who believe God can do anything, and then demonstrate this belief by following Him anywhere He leads.

These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb (Revelation 14:4).