Let us imagine that you present yourself at the gates of Buckingham Palace and ask to be let in!
Will you be admitted?
Of course not.
If you demand to be let in on the grounds that you are a “good person”, a good citizen…you will be told:
Being “good” is not enough!
You need to be a member of the royal family to be let in, or you need at least to have a very good relationship with the members of the royal family…
Do you have such a relationship with them? If not, you will not be allowed to enter, no matter who or what you are.”
Does this answer make sense? It does.
How then can we hope to enter the Kingdom of God one day if we have not developed a good relationship with Jesus, the only Son of God, “in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”
(Colossians 2: 9 – 10)
Ever since he came on earth, Jesus has been offering his friendship and Lordship to each one of us, inviting and expecting all who want to truly be “good” to chose him to become their Lord, their best friend and their Saviour, even though they do not deserve such an honour.
Sad to say, very few respond to that invitation.
By rejecting Jesus’ invitation we automatically disqualify ourselves from being allowed to ever enter his Eternal Kingdom!
Being “good” in our eyes is not good enough for anyone to enter the realm of eternity and perfect happiness.
Only if we have chosen to become a follower of Jesus will we allowed in!
Having a close relationship with Jesus” does not mean, of course, merely becoming “religious”, going to church and praying to him for his protection and blessings, as many do.
The relationship must be real, not fake!
If we mean business with God, our Creator, we must start by reading daily his “instruction book”, his “Word” that has been preserved in the New Testament. We must let him speak to our heart through his written Word!
That is the first and most important decision that we must make:
Spend time everyday, to study the Bible, God’s Instruction Book, in order to get to know him better and start thinking and seeing things as he does!
When we do this, we will first of all realise how much gratitude we owe to God’s Only Son foraccepting to pay for our sins himself, bearing the punishment we deserve in order that his Father’s sense of “Justice must be done” be fully satisfied.
There is no greater expression of God’s love for us than him sending Jesus Christ on earth and on the cross for us ! (John 15: 13)
Once we have grasped that, we will learn to love him and want to become more like him in every way, seeking to please him rather than please ourselves.
Jesus will become our “role-model”, and we will become his obedient and faithful subjects and friends.
This “relationship” is what is needed as a pre-requisite for us to be admitted in God’s eternal home and kingdom one day!
Now that you know this, you, must make the decision to become a slave of Christ Jesus!
As for those who have not been introduced to Jesus in this life, they will have the opportunity to know all about him in Hades, the world of the dead, and will have to choose then how to respond to him.
And then…comes Judgement Day!