There was an old preacher who loved his children dearly and longed for them to live right. As they grew older, he did not want to browbeat them or make them think he was always “preaching at them,” so he looked for a way to lovingly and gently encourage them. He came up with his own heartfelt catchphrase, “Whatever you do, don’t miss heaven!”
As each child graduated and moved out of the house, he heartily urged, “Whatever you do, don’t miss heaven!” As they began to experiment with the “pleasures” and the “ways” of the world, he gently implored, “Whatever you do, don’t miss heaven!” Then, as they all gathered around his bed, with tears in their eyes, watching their adoring father take his last breaths on this side of eternity, they heard him whisper again, “Whatever you do, don’t miss heaven!”
What sage advice! Consider how this should become the motto for each of us!
When Satan comes calling, whatever you do, don’t miss heaven! There is certainly a momentary pleasure to be found in sin, but Moses learned to weigh temptation in the balance and see the lasting pleasure in “the reward” that awaited him (Heb. 11:24-26). View every temptation through the eternal ramifications that it can have.
When considering the one whom you will marry, whatever you do, don’t miss heaven! When the children of Israel moved into the temporal Promised Land of Canaan and married those of a different faith, “they forgot the Lord their God” and “served their gods” (Judg. 3:5-7), and they missed the eternal Promised Land of heaven. View your future spouse through the eternal impact he/she will have on you.
When considering your choice of career and your choice of hobbies, whatever you do, don’t miss heaven! Some things in life (like a job) are a necessity; some things in life (like hobbies) are optional. Yet, all things in life (whether we consider them necessities or options) must be evaluated in light of that which is “earthly” and that which is “eternal” (2 Cor. 5:1-8). View every decision of life through the eternal effect that it will have on your soul.
When considering the place of the church in your life, whatever you do, don’t miss heaven! The church cannot take a secondary role in your life, off to the side, with occasional attention, for Jesus taught that we must “seek [it] first” (Matt. 6:33). View the priority to which you give the church through the eternal magnitude that it will have on you.
Friend, what is heaven worth to you? Have you “set your mind on things above” or “on things of the earth” (Col. 3:1- 2)? Whatever you do, please; don’t miss heaven!
~Adapted from David Sproule
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