Life on Earth is temporary. The Apostle Peter wrote that the current heavens and Earth are reserved for fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10-13). Peter speaks of new heavens and a new earth. This one is going in the great recycle bin. It is God's big reset button, and a great way to get rid of plastic.

However, that is not the end. It just clears the way for the next season of this planet, which will be whatever God chooses to plant here when it is renovated. I am pretty sure the dinosaur era was not as much of a headache for Him as humans are with nuclear weapons, who will do anything except love one another. If I were him, I would plant potatoes next time...

Yet, for those who love and trust in God, eternal life in heaven awaits. For God haters, I have good news and bad news... The good news is that your spirit will live forever as well. The bad news is that, well, you will probably be in a pit of fire called hell for the duration of it. This is a simple Sunday school message; nothing deep here, though perhaps forgotten.

My question today is, when you are in heaven looking back on your life on Earth, what will your conversations be? What will your war stories be? What will be the battle scars that you earned while here? What was your most difficult struggle?

Sure, we will be spending a lot of time singing praises and worshipping God, but if I am fortunate enough to be there and get to have a conversation with David, I am absolutely going to ask him about Goliath. And though God won't bring up your sinful past, I have noticed that His people will.

Our lives here on Earth have a beginning and an end, a start and a finish. It is like going through school and graduating, or dropping out. The author of Hebrews describes it as a great race:

(Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus ran His race, completed it, and has sat down at the right hand of God. He is our example. Now He watches us and intercedes for us as we run ours. Many things around us are distractions. Take your eyes off the Lord, and in the ditch you will go. The Apostle Paul wrote:

(1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NKJV) Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

Life is like a great race, and there is a start and a finish line. God sees the eternal picture, while we tend to see what is around us today using our physical senses. In God's eyes, having treasure in heaven and a reward or promotion that will last for eternity far outweighs a little comfort for us right now in the present.

Will there be different levels of heaven? Yes, apparently so. The Apostle Paul spoke of a man who was caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2). Jesus spoke of the least in the kingdom of heaven and the great (Matthew 5:19). James and John asked to be seated next to Jesus in His kingdom, but He told them that wasn't something He could give them for it was prepared for someone else (Mark 10:37-40).

The Apostle John wrote that he saw twenty-four elders wearing white robes and crowns of gold (Revelation 4:4). Jesus said to store up treasure in heaven that cannot be stolen by giving alms to others (Luke 12:33). He used the term "alms," which means giving beyond your tithe.

(Luke 12:33-34 NKJV) Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

To sum all this up, some will be seated closer to Jesus than others; some will be least, while others may be great. Some will have treasure in heaven when they arrive, and some may not.

My point is that what you are doing today is determining your eternal future. This is beyond salvation. I mean, as Christians, we should aim for more than crashing through the pearly gates with our clothes scorched and smoking because we barely made it in.

This is common sense, right? We should strive to be more like Jesus. Are you doing unto others as you would like them to do unto you? Are you storing up treasure in heaven?

The struggles, the strain, the fight to overcome will be in our conversations in heaven. The writer of Hebrews spoke of the struggles of many past saints:

(Hebrews 11:35-38 NKJV) Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

Ouch! God 'allowed' His saints to suffer through these trials so that they might obtain a "better resurrection." Nothing happens without God's permission. In the Book of Job, chapter 1, a day came when it was time for the angels, "Sons of God," to present themselves to the Lord, and satan came along with the others.

The Lord and satan had a discussion, which turned to Job, who was a blameless and upright man. Then satan accused Job of serving God only because He had put a hedge of protection about him. So, to prove that Job was a righteous man, the Lord removed Job's hedge but told satan not to lay a hand on his body:

(Job 1:12 NKJV) And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job was wiped out financially, and his family was destroyed, though not his wife, as apparently they were considered one flesh. The tests failed to break Job, and he sat down and said, "naked, I came into this world, and naked, I will leave it. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." So satan returned to the Lord to ask for more access to Job:

(Job 2:5-6 NKJV) But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life."

Again, satan was limited to what he could do to Job and was not allowed to kill him. When you examine what is happening, you find that satan is merely a tool to test and reveal what is inside a person. To sift you as wheat, like Peter, but completely limited by what God permits. Even with Peter in the New Testament, satan had to ask for permission first:

(Luke 22:31-32 NKJV) And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

Fear was found in Peter when he was sifted, as he denied knowing Jesus three times. Then, hopeless, he returned to his old way of life, fishing. He was tested. Jesus met him on the beach and restored him.

There is nothing to fear in this life but God. He is the loving, undefeatable, and awesome righteous Judge. The buck stops here. He makes no excuses. He tells no lies. No one can snatch you out of His hand, and not even satan can lay a finger on you without the Lord's permission. A sparrow does not fall to the ground without His consent, and neither will you.

How will we do in the great race? What will our conversations be like in heaven? What will our war stories be? What did we overcome in this life? Did we have mercy on the helpless? Did we love God and love others? Your actions today will be the legacy you take with you to heaven. It's what you will have to look back on.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I love You, and thank You so much for taking care of little me! Please fulfill Your perfect will in my life and help me get in tune with what You are doing on Earth today. Make my part in this life clear to me and help me find my destiny. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!