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Imagine there’s no Heaven…

Most of us have heard John Lennon singing the famous song “Imagine”
– his second hit as an ex-Beatle. I heard it this morning and that line
keeps running over and over in my head.

“Imagine there’s no Heaven.”

Ok, let’s play along. Let’s imagine there’s no Heaven. What then?
Would you still be a Christian? Let’s face it, most of us signed on
because we didn’t want to go to Hell. In most cases, somebody
presented to us an “escape clause” which spelled out for us how
exactly we could avoid the “wages of sin” which we all deserved,
the eternal torment of Hell. Our interest was peaked. We recited a
prayer or got baptized, jumped through some denominational hoops,

baptism or a Sinner’s Prayer perhaps, and – BAM! – in an instant,

we were Heaven bound!

But what if there WERE no Heaven? Would you have signed on?

Years ago, I heard a cassette tape of a preacher named Jesse
Duplantis. Though I can’t recall the subject, I do recall that he was
screaming and yelling and preaching up a storm on this tape, all the
while making me laugh. Then, he said a few words that I’ll never
forget. In a soft, gentle tone, in a near whisper, he uttered, “Jesus
Christ wants to be a real person in your life.”

At first, I was offended. “Of COURSE Jesus is a real person in my
life…” Then I was gripped with the cold reality that He was no more
real to me than Davy Crocket or George Washington or any other
historical figure. He was the baby at Christmas and the resurrected
individual at Easter…other than that, He wasn’t real to me.

A few years later, I was listening to a preacher named J. Vernon
McGee on the radio. Again, I heard him speaking of the reality of
Jesus Christ and how He desires to be as real to us as one’s closest
friend or spouse.

We fall in love with Jesus in the same way that we fall in love with
any other person, i.e., we spend TIME with them. In fact, it’s been
said that “love’ should be spelled T-I-M-E. He wants RELATIONSHIP

with us. Sadly, far too often, all He gets from us is meaningless

RELIGION.

When I was single for 10 years, before I met my beloved Barbara,
people would occasionally ask when I was getting married. I would
answer, “I AM married…I’m married to Jesus!” An old man from
Barbados once told me that, when he met his wife, he KNEW she
was the one for him because, as he put it, “We were in love with
the same person.”

Speaking of my wife, Barbara, I knew she was the one for me on
our first date. I actually never asked her to marry me. We both
simply knew that God wanted us together. What gave it away? Neither
of us were needy! We were complete, alone in our relationships with
Jesus. Yet, somehow, we knew we’d be stronger together than
apart…just the THREE of us (a threefold cord is not easily broken,
Ecc 4:12).

Over the years, I have lost my enthusiasm for Heaven. I rarely find
myself talking or thinking about it much anymore, certainly not the
way I did as a Christian babe. I’ve come to understand what Paul
meant when he wrote, “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” In other
words, if they killed him, he’d get to be with Jesus. If they let him
live, well…he’d get to be with Jesus! “Kill me and I’m with the
King; let me live and I’ll build His Kingdom.” What does Satan
do with people like that?

Truth is, the world is full of people like that, folks who stare
fearlessly in the face of that demon of Persecution, content to know

that the Lord promised there would be days like this. I speak with quite

a few Believers of this caliber and, frankly, it’s encouraging. They’re
not in this for Heaven’s sake; they’re in it because they love Jesus and

they love His people.

Are tough times coming YOUR way? Jesus said, “in this world
you will have many troubles, but be of good cheer for I have
overcome the world, ”(Jn 16:33). That means “yes, they are coming.”

Do you know the Overcoming One? I mean REALLY know Him? Is
there an intimacy of relationship that grows with each day between
you two? Would you be a Christian (literally “a little Christ”) if there
were no promise of Heaven?
I’m convinced that Heaven is a mirror image of Earth. After all, Jesus

Himself taught His disciples, “thy will be done, on Earth as it is in

Heaven.” He didn’t do or say anything unless His Father in Heaven

gave the directive. I’m prone to saying, “as it is in the natural, so it

is in the spiritual.” We have many wars upon the planet right now

because there are wars going on in the spirit realm. We have many

fatherless children on the planet because The Church is failing to

“father” those who come into the Kingdom. America’s obesity problem

is the result of being spiritually fat and lazy. You get the picture, I’m

sure. Even the Amplified Bible version of Matthew 18:18 – a verse

often misquoted and misapplied by many who teach that Heaven takes

its orders from us – quotes Jesus as saying, “Truly I tell you, whatever

you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be

what is ALREADY FORBIDDEN in heaven, and whatever you permit

and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is ALREADY

PERMITTED in heaven.” We are the reflection of what goes on in the

Heavens; NOT the image-makers.
When Lennon sang, “Imagine there’s no heaven…it’s EASY if you try,”

he was sadly mistaken. Psalm 19:1 tell us, “The heavens declare the

glory of God…” It would be very hard to deny something so glaringly

obvious. In fact, Romans 1:20 says, for those who’ve never even heard

the Gospel of the Kingdom, “For the invisible things of Him from the

creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things

that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are

without excuse:”
No excuse? Sorry, Mr. Lennon. On December 8th, 1980, he was

murdered in cold blood by a deranged fan. Where his belief in

Heaven is concerned, I’m sure he’s singing a different tune today.
When I was a Youth minister and a College Church pastor, one thing

that I often detected was the complete lack of sincerity displayed by

many of the kids. They LOVED the social aspects of being a Christian.

Visiting the water parks, attending concerts, having fellowship,

wearing the T-shirt – these were all quite shallow evidences of a

relationship with Christ. When the tests and trials came, many kids

failed, even turning their backs on Christianity all together.
If you want to know the truth, the same inclination exists among adults.

Trials will come. Everything WILL be tested, including Jesus Himself

(remember His wilderness encounter with Satan; He was led there by

the Holy Spirit, we’re told).
Will you pass those tests? If your Christianity is all about Heaven and

NOT all about Jesus, probably not.
Don’t fret. You’ll get to take the test again later.
Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
A servant of God
www.YourTown4Jesus.com