Are You Afraid to Die?Sýnishorn

The Promise of Heaven

When you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you became a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Now you are God’s child, His heir, with all His power backing you and His Spirit living inside you! You have the promise of victory in your life.

And with that promise comes another: when you leave this earth, you will go to heaven and live with Him forever. John 3:16 says that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. You can count on it.

Sometimes people are afraid of the unknown, but heaven is not unknown -- the Bible tells us about it. It says that when we go to heaven, we’ll see Jesus face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12) and that He’s preparing a place there for us (John 14:2). The Bible says that the streets in heaven are made of gold (Revelation 21:21). Many people have had visions of heaven that tell of all manner of wonderful things.

There’s a lot more about what heaven looks like in Revelation 21 – go read it for yourself. For example, Revelation 21:4 says: He will wipe away every tear…and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

We have so much to look forward to! The Apostle Paul said, “To live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Second Corinthians 5:8 says, We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Paul said to be with Christ in heaven is far better than life here on earth! (Philippians 1:23).

These promises really became a reality to me when I was 37 years old and my first husband died very suddenly. Now whenever someone says to me, “I’m sorry you lost your husband,” I answer them, “Oh, I didn’t lose him. I know right where he is!” He is somewhere that is far better. He has gained!

The promise of heaven is such good news. As a Christian, you know where you’re going, and you have no need to fear dying. As 1 Corinthians 15:55, 57 says: Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!