HUMANS IN HEAVEN! WHAT’S THE CRITERIA?
The British system of education that I did my primary education under, had a program that was called civvies day. Civvies day was a day when all students could come to school wearing their civilian clothing. The schools used this day as a fundraising strategy by demanding that students pay a certain amount of money to wear their clothes.
As I have grown older, I look back at the idea of civvies day with much scrutiny and resentment. One hurtful event I remember about civvies day was the shame one would feel if they forgot or somehow missed the announcement. I can recall one day when I showed up in school only to be the only one in my class wearing a uniform; I stood out like a sore thumb, didn’t feel like I truly belonged.
On a slightly different note, I have often wondered if the humans in heaven also feel the same way I did on civvies day. Do the likes of Enoch, Moses, Elijah, and the group mentioned in Matthew 27:52-53, feel out of place in heaven? Whenever they are in the presence of un-fallen beings, do they stick out like a sore thumb; ultimately, just like me on civvies day, do they sometimes feel like they don’t belong?
Thinking about these humans in heaven, the bigger question I have often asked myself is, what exactly did they do to qualify for this great privilege? What was it about them that put them ahead of characters like David, Joshua, Caleb, Rehab, Deborah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Esther, Nehemiah, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Peter, John, Dorcas, and Paul? As I look deeper into these questions, I realize that the fundamental question that I am trying to answer by asking all these other questions is; what can I do to make the cut?
In my quest to find answers, I investigated the lives of these human beings in heaven. In the course of my investigation, I discovered that they all lived at different times in earth’s history and had different experiences on what it means to be human. The only thing that they all appeared to have in common without exception was the reason they are in heaven, and that reason is God’s grace! They are all in heaven not because of what they did but because of who God is.
While on earth, the lives of these heavenly beings were far from perfect. The secret to their change of status was in how they trusted God while navigating through life’s challenges.
Enoch (Genesis 5:24), the seventh generation from Adam. And whose life’s story stands in comparison with that of Lamech (Genesis 4:19-24) also the seventh generation from Adam; believed God’s word and looked forward to God’s Salvation. Moses died as a result of his sin, but he believed and hung his life on the Salvation of God (Hebrews 11:23-29).
Elijah was taken to heaven by a chariot of fire regardless of his spiritual and physical exhaustion and burn out. The events on Mount Carmel and the subsequent drama involving Jezebel (1 Kings 18:20-46), clearly left the prophet at his breaking point. You can tell how exhausted he was by the conversation he had with God in 1 Kings 19:11-18. The job that God gave him to do, Elijah did not fully accomplish, and God rewarded him by taking him to heaven (2 Kings 2).
As for the group mentioned in Matthew 27:52-53, they were resurrected as a result of Jesus’s death on the cross, and taken to heaven as a result of His resurrection. Outside of Jesus The Messiah, their story would not even set foot on the realm of reality.
I quickly learned from my investigation that the presence of these humans in heaven is a testament of God’s loyal love and grace. God is mighty to save, and if anyone would give Him an excuse to save them, He will!
The good news is that you and I, with all our brokenness, are eligible for Salvation. God doesn’t disappoint those who bank on His word. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, at the end of earth’s sinful history, when Jesus comes again. What all the redeemed will have in common is a belief in God (John 3:16).
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