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Is This All There Is?

Has the thought ever crossed your mind, "There's GOT to be more to life than this!"

I mean, think of it! The years of our childhood were so fleeting. It seemed that in NO time we found ourselves responsible for supporting ourselves and perhaps others as well. Every day finds us doing the same thing—the same monotonous routine! It's like being on a treadmill. We find ourselves expending lots of energy but in the end do we find ourselves getting any further ahead?

I suppose if we work really hard for 40 or 50 years, we can at least HOPE to have acquired a comfortable place to live and not have to worry too much about the future. But, by then what does "the future" hold? Why, a few short years of old age and then just a grave at the end. Is this REALLY all there is to life?

No wonder people have always speculated about a life after this one!

But there's no need to speculate...

The Bible presents the next life in detail. Everyone will have a "next life" but the question is, "Where will you spend it?" Either you will spend eternity in the presence of God (in heaven) or you will spend it separated from Him (in hell). This life really doesn't last very long—only a few people live to see 100 years. But God created people with a spirit that will live forever.

You only have this life to decide where you will spend your "forever."

You don't really know how much longer you have to live here on earth, and you won't have a second chance. The Bible says,

"It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment." Hebrews 9:27

The truth of the matter is that everyone will, one day, stand before God. My question for you is:

"How are things between you and God?"

Did you know that only one thing is really going to matter on that day? It's not going to matter that you tried to live a decent life, for instance. The one thing that will matter is what you believe about Jesus Christ, God's Son. You probably are familiar with this well-known verse in the Bible that talks about Him:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

A little over 2000 years ago, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to this world. He lived and taught for 33 short years. What was his mission? Why did He come? His sole reason for coming was to make a way for you and me to spend eternity in heaven. If you and I are honest, we have to admit that we have done many things that are wrong. The Bible states it clearly,

"There is none righteous, not even one...for all have sinned..." Romans 3:10, 23

Furthermore, it states,

"The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." Romans 6:23

You see, you and I have earned the death penalty for our sins. We deserve to be eternally separated from God, but Jesus came to bear that judgment for our sins.

"God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:17,18

So, here is the big question: What do you believe about Jesus Christ?

Some people think that He was merely a good man whose life is recorded not only in the Bible but also by secular historians of his time. They might even go so far as to recognize Him as a great moral teacher but a self-deceived person, nonetheless. What you believe concerning Jesus Christ determines your destiny. He Himself said,

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes unto the Father but through Me." John 14:6

But Jesus was rejected by the people of his day. They seized Him, and after performing a farce of a trial, they nailed Him to a cross. Jesus never resisted—of course He did not; He knew that all of this had to take place! There simply was no other way for us to be forgiven of our sins. Jesus voluntarily hung on that cross and shed His innocent blood for your sins and mine.

After he died, his body was laid in a tomb but that was not the end of Him. Three days later he rose from the dead and was seen by over 500 witnesses—all of this to prove that He was no ordinary person. He was, in fact, the very Son of God, who had accomplished his task fully—nothing was left for you and me to do but believe.

So then, do you have uneasy feelings about your meeting with God?

Deep down inside, do you sense that things aren't really as they should be? Who knows — you could be involved in a fatal car accident this very day. Or you could be among those who have simply dropped dead without any warning.

The good news is that you can be certain that you have been forgiven of your sins. You can be sure that "the best is yet to come." How? Simply by believing the truth about Jesus. Let me close with one more verse of the Bible,

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." John 1:12

Perhaps you think, "Well, I wouldn't know what to say." You can put it in your own words but basically you could pray something like this:

Dear Lord Jesus, I do believe that you are the Son of God. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and deserve to spend eternity in hell. I do believe that you died in my place and that you rose again from the dead. Thank you for paying for my sins so that I could be forgiven. Please reveal yourself to me in a deeper way. Help me to come to know you better. Amen.

I can tell you from my own experience that knowing Him makes all the difference in the world. In spite of my many responsibilities, what a joy it is every day to wake up in the morning knowing that I am a forgiven person and on my way to heaven.