Then How Can I Get To Heaven?
Well, pretty much everyone wants to go to heaven, but like Paul Washer says, "it's just that no one wants God to be there when they get there". While going to heaven and being with God is the ultimate reward for someone saved in Jesus Christ, don't let your desire for rewards get in the way of the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me".
What you need to do is the absolute opposite of everything that will come naturally to you. What you need to do is stop your striving and fighting for yourself and/or your family. In essence, what you actually need to do is, give up; give up your life.
You Mean, I'm Not In Control?
Well, yes. You need to acknowledge that you cannot fix your problem. You cannot make a way for yourself to get to God. Sin has separated all people, including you, from God. Acknowledge that you are helpless to fix your problem and you will begin to see your need for a Savior.
A proud man who finds himself caught in a riptide 100 yards from the beach, when realizing the grave reality of his situation, would fight with all his strength to get back to the shore. He would look at his friends collected on the beach and he wouldn't want the embarrassment of having to plead for help, which might cause him to fight with even more intensity. He would be so preoccupied with his image that he would want to trust his own strength to get him back to shore. He might look at his expensive roadster in the parking lot, and for fear of losing his reputation, risk death instead in order to preserve his pride.
Eventually the proud man would have to make a choice; acknowledge the surging power of the ocean beneath him as being greater than himself; call out for help and be saved. Or, if his pride was his master, then the man would have to die to save his pride.
So Let Me Guess... I Need Jesus Right?
More than you know friend. Think about what God has done for you and I. God gave us life, yet we have been His enemies in loving what God hates. We chose sin and death over God and life. And despite our rebellion, all of our sins have been paid for in Jesus Christ, and His forgiveness awaits those who would receive Life.
Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, was born of a virgin and lived a life that was sinless in word, thought, and deed. His blood was without any impurity; 100% holy. In order to pay for our sin, Jesus had to go to the cross. The perfect Son who had never experienced the separation from God through sin, became the horror of sin and death that we may live.
Every sinful act, even those done in secret, that we've ever committed was heaped upon Jesus Christ. And it pleased the Lord to crush Him. The Bible says, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor 5: 21. Jesus Christ took the full weight of our sin upon Himself that we would be forgiven, and His forgiveness doesn't depend on us... it all depends on Him.
