Blessed Assurance

"Mom, did your dad love God?", Abigail asked as I put her to bed. "Yes, honey, I think he did", I answer.

"Will I see him in heaven?"

"Yes, I think you will."

"Good", is all she says in response.

The next morning comes and Abigail is still thinking about my father.  She asks again if she will see him in heaven.   Again, I tell her yes.  This is the easy answer.  The real answer is too complicated for her little five year old heart to handle.

It has been almost 17 years since my father passed away.  It shocks me to type that number.  Is it really possible that I have lived almost half of my life without him?  The reality is that I have lived without him even longer than that.  For even when he was alive, he was not a constant presence in my life.

I wish that I had an assurance that I would see my father again someday.  I think I will, I hope, I pray.  I know that my father heard the message of salvation many times.  He heard it from his mother, my mother and from preachers at church. 

The Easter before he died, he attended a play at my high school.  At the end of the performance, the pastor asked everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes.  He then asked those who wanted to accept Jesus as their savior to stand.  I could not help it.  I peaked.  To my amazement my father was standing.

And this is what I hang on to.  I don't know what went on in his heart between him and God that evening.  It is my prayer that he yielded his life to the Lord.  I wish that I had been brave enough to ask him.  I wish that my fear of making him upset with me was not greater than my desire to see him enter into the presence of God. 

And maybe that is the lesson to be learned.  We never know how much longer we are going to have with those that we love.  Let us always be looking for opportunities to share the message of salvation.  Let our fear of rejection not be greater than our desire to see our loved ones spend eternity in heaven.

Is there someone in your life who needs to hear the message of Christ's gift of eternal life?  Begin by praying for them and asking God to soften their hearts.  Pray that opportunities to share will present themselves and that He will give you the words to say.  Pray that when asked if you will see that person again someday, there will be no doubt or questioning, but rather complete assurance of where they stand before God.

Someday when I get to heaven, even though I am not sure if my earthly father will be waiting for me, I know that my Heavenly Father will be beckoning me to come to him with open arms.  Of that I can be certain.

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A Night at the Fair

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  John 3:16-17

“I’m free!” yelled Bethany as I sat at the computer reading off the Fredericksburg Fair ticket prices to my husband.  I explained to him that children under the age of four were allowed in free of charge, but that Abigail was going to have to pay for a ticket.

Bethany latched onto that fact and ran with it.  She bolted up the steps exclaiming to her sister that she was going to have to pay to get into the Fair.  It wasn’t long before a very concerned Abigail was in the kitchen asking why she had to pay. 

Being the wonderful parents that we are (said with total sarcasm), we teased her just a little bit.  I told her that she was going to have to pay $5 to get into the Fair and asked her if she had the money.  When she said that she didn’t, I explained that she would have to stay home with our dog Bailey.

At this point she started to cry (okay, we are not so wonderful parents).  Daddy quickly ran over and wrapped his arms around her and told her that he would pay for her to get into the fair.

We had a wonderful time together that evening.  Steve and I had permanent grins on our faces as we watched our little princesses ride the carousel, train and slide down the super slide.  It gave us great joy to watch them running and playing, free from any cares of this world.

As I reflected on the evening during the car ride home, I realized that what Steve did for Abigail was not all that different than what Christ did for us.

Abigail had a debt to pay.  So do we.

Abigail had no way to pay her debt.  Neither do we.

Her daddy provided a way for her to go to the fair.

Christ provided a way for us to live eternally with Him in heaven.  His sacrifice was much larger than the $5 bill Steve paid for Abigail to get into the Fair.  He paid with His life.

Unlike the Fair, our time in heaven will never end.  I like to think that Christ will watch us with a permanent grin on His face as we run and play, free from all the cares of this world.

In order for Abigail to get in that evening, she had to accept Steve’s gift. 

In order for us to get into Heaven, we must accept the free gift that Christ provided through His death on the cross.

Have you accepted this gift?  Would you like more information?  If so, click the “New Life” tab at the top of this page.

This post was linked at Finding Heaven: Opening Doors to Grace.