OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to list of articles Next 

WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

Wayne Rodgers

 To whom do you give credit for where you are now?  We can certainly think of at least one person that has helped us get to where we are.  For some it may be a parent or grandparent, or it may be a preacher, a teacher, or a close friend.  Whoever this person is, there was something that you could not accomplish that they could.  They had something to offer you that you maybe could not attain on your own.  And in some way, they gave you just the help you needed to reach your goal.  God be thanked for those great individuals!

 But what about the future? Where are you going?  We should be always thinking about where we are going.  We are taught to make goals and then to reach for them.  We are told to make a plan, or else, we are planning to fail.  Our goal for the future ultimately should be heaven, but we have no way of reaching heaven without help.  Jeremiah says that it “is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps.”(Jer. 10:25).  So, Christ offers that help (Heb. 2:9; 4:15).  God has planned great things for us, and offered something that we could not achieve on our own.

 God has made a way for us to reach our goal, for it is His goal as well. In 2 Peter 3:9, he says that he is “not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance.”  God does not want us to fail; therefore, He has a plan to help achieve our goal.  Jesus Christ is the plan.  He is the way.  Our goal to get to heaven can only be attained by the help and direction of Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  The inspired writer of Acts records: “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  There’s no better plan than that which God has planned.  If we do not follow it, then we will fail to reach our goal.  We must obey Christ and his plan for salvation which is referred to as the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  We must continue following His plan for worship and Christian living (John 4:23-24; Col. 3:17; Rom. 12:1-2).

God’s plan for saving man includes: first hearing the word of God, which produces faith (Rom. 10:17), believing in Jesus Christ as God’s only Son (Mk. 16:16; John 8:24), repenting of sin (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 17:30, 31), confessing our belief in Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:32,33; Rom. 10:10), and being immersed in water for the remission of sins (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:37-39; 22:16).  In this way man obeys the gospel (1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Thes. 1:7-9), and the Lord adds them to the church (Acts 2:47).  In the great love and wisdom of God, an individual can be saved from sin and live a faithful life and fulfill the need to worship the Creator as He desires.

 As you think back and remember how you got where you are today, consider yet where you are going and how you will get there.  If you follow Jesus through His Word, you can have heaven as your home.  Without Him, you will be lost eternally.  Make your plans today to follow Jesus Christ, who has come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).