Why God Doesn’t Seem to be that Interested in Getting People to Heaven

For as much as many of us Christians care about getting people into heaven, God doesn’t really seem to be that interested.

I know that might sound a little heretical, but bear with me.

For one, Jesus was much more concerned with his kingdom coming to earth. That’s what he instructed us to pray, right? “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

He talked all the time about what that kingdom-on-earth kind of life looks like and very little time about how to get to heaven, or at least, our conception of heaven.

When he did talk in terms of what lies beyond this life, it was usually spoken of in very earthy terms like a meal or a banquet or a wedding.

Think now about the epistles. Not a lot on making it to heaven but a lot on living reconciled and redeemed lives with God and for God now, stretching into eternity.

And then you get to the end of the book of Revelation (our passage for this weekend is Revelation 21-22). What you have is the new creation—a new heaven and new earth. The picture is heaven coming to earth. It’s very earthy.

So that’s what I mean when I say God isn’t that interested in getting people to heaven. He’s interested in getting us right with him now, living out his kingdom and will on earth (as it is in heaven), and living eternally with him in the new creation.

All that and more is what we will explore this weekend. Bring a friend!

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash