What You Can Take to Heaven with You
Perhaps you’ve heard it said many times that you can’t take it with you when you die. Maybe you’ve heard the comical illustration, “You don’t see a U-Haul trailer behind a hearse.” We’re all urged to prepare a will so that our material and monetary possessions can be distributed according to our desires after death.
However, as a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you can influence and in effect take some people to heaven with you when. You can take family members, relatives, friends, work associates, students, and others that you’ve influenced and helped to become followers of Jesus Christ. Some will precede you and others may follow you. A good number of my academic associates, faculty and staff, have crossed over before me. My heart was gladdened knowing that I had previously been personally involved in helping some of them come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I’ll relate just two examples.
One of our administrative assistants who was a sister to my administrative assistant was in the hospital dying of lung cancer. Her sister and I visited her in the hospital. During that visit it became evident that she was not sure of her salvation. I then led her in a prayer in which she received Christ as her Lord and Savior. Then she was given scriptures that gave her assurance of salvation, Romans 10:13, for example. This was a very timely visit in that she died about a week later.
On another occasion, a retired consulting engineer, who had become a part of our engineering faculty before my coming to the college, had to retire from the faculty for medical reasons. Although he was a rather “hard boiled’, no nonsense type person, I sensed that I should go to his home and share the gospel with him. After giving my personal testimony I shared the gospel using the Four Spiritual Laws booklet (I recommend the use the version of booklet Would You Like to Know God Personally? for older adults). As I read the first of the Four Laws – “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life,” I suddenly remembered that this particular gospel presentation was written for young people. My retired colleague was nearing death and this first law did not fit his situation. His life was almost over. It seemed to me that he was at the point where he had one foot on a banana peeling and the other foot in the grave. Suddenly, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I realized and said that God has a plan for the believer’s life not only here on earth but throughout eternity. I was able to go on and finish the gospel presentation. I pointed to the suggested prayer in the Four Laws booklet and gave it to him. When I left his home I felt quite confident that he would soon pray and receive Christ. I continued to pray for him. He died several weeks later. This was followed by a closer relationship with his wife. She donated her husband’s engineering books to the college library. Later I felt impressed to invite her to go to an evening Christian business men’s meeting, attended by women, also. My wife accompanied us. The speaker shared about his coming to faith in Christ and gave testimony as to how God had worked in his life. The meeting ended with a prayer invitation. She went forward and prayed. That night she went home with a joyful, new radiance on her face. To our shock she, too, passed away a few weeks later with pneumonia.
Our Lord commissioned his followers to go into all nations and make disciples, Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47. The prophet Daniel says that those who turn many to righteousness shall shine like the stars forever and ever, Daniel 12:3b. Let me encourage you to develop or find a good gospel presentation and commit to memory its major points along with applicable scriptures. Then trust the Holy Spirit to help you flesh out the skeletal outline you memorized so you can personalize the gospel to each individual. My greatest joys in life have been to lead people to Christ and to help them become His disciples. The same can be yours, too, if you are not already doing it. Yes, you, too, can influence many to go to heaven with you!
Although we are not saved by our good works (Ephesians 2:8 & 9), the scriptures indicate that our works will follow us. Paul says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (NKJV). Also, Revelation 14:13 indicates that works follow the believer. The record of our earthly labors of love for Christ and His kingdom will be remembered when we go on to heaven.
Dr. Noel Caldwell,4-16-07, 803-210-7385
Affiliate staff with Faculty Commons of Campus Crusade for Christ
Retired, MidlandsTechnicalCollege, Columbia, SC