Why do people who don't love God want to go to heaven?
It actually makes no sense when you think about it. Seriously why would people want to go to a place where God was celebrated and worshiped 24 7 if they don't know him or even like him? seriously it is messed up. Have you thought about it - I mean really thought about it .Heaven is where the fullness of God's presence dwells, where you get to walk with him and know fully his love and glory. How could it be anything else. It is God's place. its not a reward for good people its God's house and it is a constant party - God celebrating the love of his kids and his kids celebrating the love of God. We get to live with him and enjoy his presence forever. To me someone who lives and walks and loves God that sounds like paradise. That is the reality of heaven - its home.I think there are two reasons, the first is that they don't really have a right picture of heaven. and second is that they have eternity in their hearts ( Eccles 3:15). Humans have three purposes and they are not equally important. First you are to be loved by God and to love him. second you are to love other people and third you are to love yourself. Self help books tend to dwell on the latter and that is why they don't work because one and two eclipse three. they are only truly giving you a third of your purpose.
You were made to know and love God - and be loved by him. In short you were made for heaven, the real heaven that was in paragraph 1 the one the Bible describes. That is why you want to go there - it was where you were designed for - your heart knows what your head has rejected - heaven is home. if you are trying to convince yourself that your deeds will be weighed good and bad, you are right but by whose standard who defines good and bad. It says all will be judged but it wasn't mother Theresa who set the bar - it was Jesus. The one and only perfect human being that has ever walked this earth. Fully God and fully man. If your good deeds pale to Mother Theresa you are not even a flicker compared to Jesus floodlight. By yourself you just are not getting there. So what then it is a party for two? does anyone get there? yes. here is the thing, Jesus is God's son and he is the only way to the father and heaven. By yourself you haven't got it, you are just not good enough. In our world where we are constantly told we are good enough that is a hard one - you need a saviour you can't get there alone. However God loves you regardless and he has made a way for you. That way is Jesus, he invited you on a cross. Ok that bit might not make sense. But Jesus died so you would get to be his friend. he died so, death, the thing that keeps us from God would be defeated. so you are probably saying well I didn't die yet. - good observation skills but have you noticed how bad things cause death, death of a dream, death of a relationship. God is fully and wholly Good and he sees and knows all things, we all do things that hurt ourselves or others, that is being human. God hates us hurting ourselves and others and it wounds his heart when we do things that prevent us from experiencing the fullness of life. Unfortunately the law has condemned you and you have a by the book accuser pointing this out to God.
Therefore because we are not fully good and we have someone pointing that out at every minute we need Jesus to be our advocate we need to come to him and ask for forgiveness and believe that his love and death is strong enough to wipe it away. its like I said heaven is a party but you only get in as Jesus plus one as he is the only one who is VIP enough to make it by himself - without letting him into your life you aren't getting on the list. Sorry, is a family party and if you don't want to count yourself as family you have opted out. because when we accept Jesus - confessing that we can't get there alone. That we are sorry for the ways we have been destructive towards him, asking forgiveness and receiving it which is saying we want to be adopted into the family. God is offering adoption and love and acceptance to all who choose his way. This is the gospel. This is the good news of God, if we turn around ( repent means literally turn around) away from the world which offers us little and towards the heart of a loving God he will forgive us and adopt us into his family.
Also God isn't going to force you to heaven, either - even if you could some how be good enough. There was a dude who was an angel - they are like the God's crew if you like, his messengers. He was made for heaven too and literally it was all he had ever known but opted out and took a third of the others with him remember that accuser - well that is his backstory. This is why universalism ( the belief that magically everyone goes to heaven) is a lie. It is not painting a true picture of God. God offers consent. God loves you - he wants you there but not against your will he wants you to choose it love without consent is not love for to love is to give consent. No loving God would force himself upon you. It is a free gift of God his love his grace and his forgiveness. if you think you don't qualify for the forgiveness of God because your bad is too bad. There is this dude in the bible named Saul, he went around killing God's people in the years after Jesus death - yup he was actually a mass murderer. He came to God and God forgave him and God used him to write like half the New testament ( about a fifth of the bible!) and to grow the church in Europe seriously! don't let fear disqualify you. You have a choice - there is love and forgiveness at the cross. you have to lay your life down there and choose God's way . Its a free gift yet paradoxically it costs everything but it is the most worthwhile pursuit you will ever make.
As a side note if you want to take this offer up you don't need any ' special power or religious status' Just speak to God yourself probably best in a place you won't be disturbed and Just say to him in your own words that you are so sorry for all the ways you have hurt him and then say to Jesus that you want him to be your Saviour, king and friend. that accept his offer of forgiveness and invite him into you life - that you want to learn what it means to be his child. God knows you - he has known you your whole life. Be real, voice your concerns and fears and don't hold anything back from him, just be you. don't promise you wont do it again - because we all do ( you can go back and say sorry again - that is allowed!) God loves you as you are - don't worry about the labels you ascribe to yourself or others ascribe to you. God loves the very kernel and core of you, he wants the whole lot- however broken, whatever that looks like, he loves you anyway.
If you want to get started you can read up on him for free, this is a great place to start a book called Mark's Gospel in a translation called the message (click here). With the Bible it is a good rule of thumb to start with the books which have recognisable names Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans, James, peter, Ruth , Esther. Its not that the others are bad its just they were written a long time ago and take a lot more understanding and studying to really get what they are about. if you start from the beginning you will give up in Leviticus - the third book because it is a law book and will make little sense unless you have a bit more background and understanding of what is going on at the time. Bible means library - so you don't have to read it in order. speak to a christian friend or find a church, get to know your new family. ( remember we all need Jesus - none of us are good enough alone including those who go to church. unfortunately you don't get to pick your family.)
So maybe you are thinking meh, this is not for me. That is your choice but I will just let you know the consequences - not that I am trying to scare you I just want you to be informed so you know. People talk about hell you feel bad about it - it makes your skin crawl. Why? because your heart knows what kind of place it is and it makes many people decide that they are just going to make up something that suits them and call it heaven. This fake heaven is not true ( people call it Nirvana, Elysium there have been many throughout the years) Truth is reality as it really is. There is no subjectivity in truth. Its either true or its not. full stop. Making up some magical place that you are going to go to when you die that you somehow magically qualify for or deciding there is just darkness and nothing is a nice fantasy- but it is just that a fantasy. There is darkness where you go but it is no fairytale or oblivion- oblivion is a fairytale compared to hell.
The tale of hell begins with that angel who decided he was going to leave God. Back then he was called Lucifer he decided that as he showed the beauty and glory of God he should get the credit. he opted out of God's love and protection and decided to go it alone and his mates picked him, he was a popular guy the thing is God is goodness and to be outside of God's goodness - to choose to be away from God is dark, evil and horrible it is to live without any goodness. So God loves people right. He had these two people at the beginning whom he loved so much. there was a special garden and well Lucifer - who decided to go by Satan now was pissed and jealous. He wanted to get to God - but you can't get at God - he was far too clever to go for a direct hit. so instead of Going for the jugular of God - as he knew God could destroy him in one pinch. so rather than God for God he decided to go for people. so he sneaked into the Garden and he deceived the people God had made and loved. then he accused them. when they fell for his trick he told God basically they were his now. he knew God loved them as children and he wanted them to experience the misery he knew. as the people multiplied he used different ways to claim them for his own. Murder, pretending to be a fake God to make them worship him and sacrifice their children to him. Satan was and is trying to establish a kingdom. This is the kingdom of darkness and it is directly opposed to the kingdom of God and light.
The thing you have to understand about Satan is he is a sadist. he loves to watch the people God loves get hurt and be in pain. You say that why would a loving God allow suffering I think it is because he allows us the choice of himself. Satan has wormed or slithered his way into the world and knows that the best way to get at God is to hurt his children. Whilst there are people choosing the kingdom of darkness there will be suffering and evil in the world, you have the choice. I am not saying that if you love god you don't get suffering because that is a lie. I said whilst people ( anyone ) still picks darkness bad things will happen. Selfishness caused global warming - and that causes natural disaster. It is a lie to think you have no choice over your actions, on the whole you do have a choice. God's kingdom is the good and light and they have been in a war for MILLENNIA! but you get to pick your side and you can't be neutral - not picking automatically puts you on Satan's side. There are no grey pawns. you can't be both you are either for God or against Him. I am not saying anyone is a pawn I am saying that even amongst the least significant of people ( by any definition) there is no middle ground, none!
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