Gated Communities

"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going."

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

John 14:1-6

Heaven is real, too. One thing with which we who place our faith in Jesus Christ can take comfort is the fact that we need not fear judgment after we die - once we are absent from this material world we will be present with the Lord. Jesus has returned to the right hand of the Father to prepare a place for us, such that when we have breathed our last breath we, like the thief on the cross, will be with Jesus in Paradise on that very day.

For we know the way where He is going.

Jesus Christ is the way to heaven - the truth is that there is no eternal life outside of Him. Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father but through Me." Some would like to compare that statement to Jesus standing in the way of those trying to get to God, being an obstruction to those who would come to God, but the truth of the matter is that man's sinfulness has erected an impenetratible wall between man and God - our iniquities have separated us from our God; our sins have hidden His face from us, so that He will not hear. Jesus has created a gate in the midst of that impenetratible wall so that people can get to God, but nobody can get to the Father in eternity unless they go through the gate - the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

But people want to chart their own path.

God has given each of us free will, and each of us can choose what path we will take in this life, but every path does not lead to the same destination. In fact, according to Jesus, there are really only two paths. Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." There may be many lanes on the broad path, but ultimately every lane on the broad path leads to the same destination - a cliff that flows into the Lake of Fire. It comes as no surprise that the overwhelming majority of humanity chooses their own lane on the broad road that leads to destruction, but it is the responsibility of the Christian to point people to the narrow road beyond the small gate that leads to life everlasting, eternity in the presence of God, such that some might choose life in Jesus Christ.

Like Tom Bodett says, we'll keep the light on.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to rest in Him for all eternity,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

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