Preparing for Heaven

There are many different quotes on practice out there in the sports world today. Coaches often harp on practice and stress how important it is to their players. However, very few players actually enjoy practice. They just want to get out there and play the game. They fail to realize that without putting in the hours in practice it is impossible to preform at the level necessary to become a winner. Jim Wilson, former head coach of the Buffalo college football program from 1932–1951, said "I constantly stress process over outcome. In other words, don't worry about the exam. Just do your homework." Very true. If you simply do your homework leading up to the exam then you really have nothing to worry about come test time. You have put in the hours of preparation so the exam is simply a time to show off what you have learned. It is the same in sports. If you work hard in practice then game time is simply the time to show off all the things that you have worked on in practice. Let's look at this idea of preparation when comparing it to our spiritual lives. Christians often overlook the preparation aspect of being a Christian. We cannot simply become saved and then put ourselves in cruise control until the day of judgement. We have to work to prepare ourselves for heaven. To prepare for heaven me must always be doing things with heaven on our mind. After all it is the ultimate goal that we are aiming for. We must live our lives as we are commanded to in Colossians 3:2 "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." We have to live in this world, but still not be of this world. We have to make sure that our treasures and ambitions our focused above. Matthew 6:19-21 says, "Lay not up yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do no break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. I think that verse 21 pretty much says it all. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If we are really serious about reaching our ultimate goal of heaven then we need to make sure that is where our heart is. If our hearts and minds are not on heaven daily then maybe we need to re-think our priorities and re-think our preparation. After all how can we expect to be winners on that day of judgement if we are not prepared to be there.

-Ben Stevenson

Failing to prepare is preparing for failure. -John Wooden