The Bible tells us in Matthew 19:16-26 that a rich young man came one day to our Lord Jesus Christ and asked him: “Good Master, What can I do to make it to heaven?” Jesus, in replying him, said: “Why call me good? There is only one that is good and that is the Almighty. But if you will enter into life,…”
Notice that Jesus did not say ‘if you will have eternal life’; but “if you will enter into life”. That immediately tells us that there is a difference between eternal life and life itself. There is a difference between having eternal life and entering into life. It means that it is possible that some people are alive but they are not in life.
If you are going to enter into life and living, you have to keep the commandments of God. Jesus listed the Ten Commandments for the man. It means therefore that anybody who was not keeping the commandments of God was living but was not in life. The rich young man replied Jesus that he had been keeping all the commandments, but somehow despite keeping those commandments, he still did not have that life. He knew that there was something missing in his life.
Notice also that Jesus did not mention anything about the other laws relating directly to God, such as having no other gods, not calling the name of the Lord God in vain, and remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy. That immediately tells us that the rich young man was born again and was already serving God. What then was missing from his life? What was preventing him from making it to heaven?
One of the most difficult things in life is to make it to heaven. A lot of us do not know how difficult it is, because if we did we would not be living our lives the way we are living it. One of the most important things in life is not the houses you own, your husband or your wife or your children or your bank account, or even the lack of these things. The most important thing in life is making it to heaven.
Each man has come into this world to gain something. It is possible for you to gain property. It is possible for you to gain children. It is possible for you to gain even the whole world, as the Bible makes that point clear in Mark 8:36. It is possible for you to have everything that you wish and desire in the world. However, in your attempt to gain the whole world, you might also lose something important: your soul.
All of us are here on earth for a short while and for a definite purpose. No matter how long you live, one day you have to pack and go. No matter how long you live, the owner of your life will come one day and knock and say your time is up.
The whole world is a market place and we all have come to buy and sell. Some people get to the market in the morning and stay all day long. Others get there in the morning and stay till noon. Others get to the market at noon and stay till evening. But no matter what time anybody gets to the market, nobody sleeps in the market. I have seen people who used to be very young and strong grow to become very old and weak. It is the process of death.
When you die, your body goes back to the earth and your spirit must go to either heaven or hell, and believe me sincerely, heaven is real and hell is real also. Where it goes is what you decide when you are alive.
