[Difference Makers] Harvest Sample

Help For Heaven

Some of us are trying to do enough to be Christian. That is the wrong order. You become a Christian through faith in Jesus Christ. You lay your life down for His. You make an exchange of His life for your sinful life. You put your faith in His death and resurrection. You ask Him to be your Savior. And then, once you are a Christian, you live as one. You walk out your actions. Our identity precedes our actions. We have a phrase we use around our church: “As we go.” It means that what we do flows out of who we are. 

What actions should flow from our identity? As Christians, we help people go to heaven. Difference makers meet both physical and spiritual needs. Our ministry is not limited to helping people with their physical needs. Our goal is not to make Earth a better place to go to hell from. 

It is not enough to just help people. Everybody can be well fed and have access to clean water. They can have all the clothes they need, shoes, whatever they want. But having one’s physical needs met does not change one’s soul. If it were true that having everything you need makes it heaven on Earth, then suburban America is perfect. We have more than we need. But we know there are just as many divorces, addictions, pornography, and sin here as elsewhere. The world is a bizarre place, quickly becoming crazier and more chaotic. It cannot continue like this. This is not sustainable. Something has to be different. 

As Christians, we help people: yes, of course! But that is not all we do. We do not just engage in social activity, but in soulful activities. The world says life does not matter. It says a human being is just a freak of nature, and that we are no better than a dead dog when we die. But Christians know each person has a soul. You were knitted together in your mother's womb. Each and every life matters to God. 

We help people, and through meeting their physical needs, and declaring truth to them, we help them to go to heaven. As we go, we become like Jesus. 

Pray: God, fill me with Your love so that I might not just help, but help people go to heaven.