Everyone dies. It’s the one certainty in this life. Because it’s a certainty it means that we as preppers should actually prepare for it. There are practical aspects that you need to prepare for (who gets all your cool stuff, do you want a funeral service, etc.), and I cover those in a separate article. Here, we’re covering something even more important - the most important decision in your life.
Eternal Creatures
The Bible teaches that all humans are eternal creatures – our soul is eternal, meaning it will live forever. The only question is where you’ll get to live after this earthly life is over (we die). Either you’ll live forever with God in Heaven or live eternally cast away from God in the place we call Hell. While you might dismiss this or think that “Hell’s not so bad” – don’t. Hell is not a place you want to be. Think of the worst possible place you can imagine (worse than Hoboken, New Jersey) and then multiply it by 1,000,000. Then, you may start to have an idea of what hell will be like.
No-one Is Good Enough
You also may be thinking that “you’re good enough” or have “done enough good” to go to Heaven. That’s not true. Mainly, because no one on their own is good enough for Heaven.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23
We’re all sinners in God’s eyes – everyone. Everyone on Earth has lied, cheated, lusted, stolen, hated, etc. at some point in their life (usually daily). God goes on to tell us the consequences of this sin.
“For the wages of sin is death.” — Romans 6:23a
The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not physical death, but eternal death, which is a separation from God. This is because God is perfect. He can’t allow us to defile Heaven by allowing us to come in with our sin intact. We deserve punishment for our sins, so that’s what we’ll get – unless we can remove this sin.
The Greatest Gift
God gave a way to remedy this sin. Jesus was God-incarnate, who came to Earth as a man, lived a sinless life, and was put to death on the cross. This death served as the ultimate sacrifice – one capable of wiping out the sins of all mankind.
“But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” — Romans 6:23b
While this sacrifice is a gift offered to all mankind, it’s a gift that must be accepted.
“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:9
“for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” — Romans 10:13
That’s it - it’s that simple. Salvation is simply tied to faith. It’s not dependent upon anything you have or will do. It’s solely dependent upon your faith in Jesus Christ. If you truly believe that Jesus Christ is God and that he can save you from your sins, that’s it - that’s the whole process. By accepting this gift, you’ll go to Heaven when you die.
Bottom Line
This is the single most important thing you can do in your life. If you choose to accept Jesus, then I recommend you take these additional steps (in order):
- Get a Bible and start reading it. This is the main way God communicates with us, so it’s important. Start with the book of John.
- Pray continually. It doesn’t have to be fancy, prayer is just a conversation – it’s how you communicate with God. He wants to hear from you - a lot. The more you pray, the closer you become to God.
- Find a good church that preaches the Bible (not just what people want to hear) and go there as much as you can. Learn from those that have been Christians longer than you.
- Get baptized. This is a public declaration of your decision that Jesus commanded every believer to do, so you should do it, too.
- Try to live the way Jesus commands us to live (#1-3 will help you do this).
- Love God more than anything else.
- Love your neighbor more than yourself.
- Tell others about Jesus. Share the world’s greatest gift!
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.