Heaven Can Wait

The cinema adverts had the title "Heaven Can Wait". It seems that many people believe this too.

St. Louis, MISSOURI. A young girl is dancing to the music on the radio. She opens a jar and takes a tablet out of it. "How many would that be now? Well, they won't be that strong altogether," she thinks. The song on the radio stops and an advert shoots through admonishing people to join the church of their choice. She laughs. "Church? I'm much too young for that! First I want to live a bit!" For the time being Rock 'n' Roll is her music, and tablets are her life. "There's enough time left for serious things later." She grabs one more tablet, then another one, and another one. Minutes later she falls to the ground. Her dizzy head realises that she had one tablet too many, and there is nobody at home who could help her now. If she could only make it to the 'phone to call her best friend ... just a few more steps ... but she can't; her life ends just a few centimetres from the telephone. She was only fifteen years old - too young to die ...

San Francisco, CALIFORNIA. A young man is standing in front of the mirror, combing his hair for an exciting night out on the town. He is so excited that he can hardly look straight ahead. "This is the night I will really have a great time," he is saying to himself. He opens his can of beer and makes his way to the car. Now his fun has just begun! While he is driving, he notices a big advert: "God forgives. Let Him." He only reacts with shrugging his shoulders. Maybe, one day, he thinks - but not tonight. For now he is only thinking of all the girls and the party he is going to join in only five minutes. Suddenly, out of the blue, a car is coming towards him. He is driving far too fast to be able to stop in time. And there is no way out! The accident wasn't his fault really, and yet they are pulling his mutilated body out of his totally wrecked car ... This is the place of his death ...

Houston, TEXAS. A young mother is angry that she has to get up so early on a Sunday morning to prepare breakfast for the family. The eldest of her children puts the television on. Jimmy Swaggart is on the screen, singing songs of worship to God. For a minute she listens, quite interested. But then, the baby starts to cry in its chair and the three year old is pulling on her apron to get her attention. "Who, with three little kids, can find time for God?" she asks herself. There is no time to go to church or to read the Bible. Not even if you really wanted to! The song starts to annoy her and she shouts at her eldest child to switch the television off. Finally, breakfast is over, the baby has fallen asleep and the other two are playing outside. She sinks into a chair for a little while and lights up a cigarette. She tries to rest a little bit and flicks through a Sunday magazine, but she is so exhausted that in the end she falls asleep. The lit cigarette falls out of her hand onto the paper. Before anybody can reach her she is engulfed in flames. There was a bit of smoke and fire damage in the house, but the family is without a wife and a mother ...

New York City. He smiles as he puts the last bank note into his wallet. There was no doubt - he had made himself a lot of money and he had done it all by himself. He is in the latest edition of "Who's Who in America" in case you want to read more about him. But this venture is one of the biggest so far. By accomplishing it he can have a very good life indeed for the rest of his days.

From now on he can retire from active business without facing financial problems. He is booking a flight from La Guardia to Florida. There he will meet five of the leading businessmen in the country who are interested in the deal he has set up. On board the plane he flicks lazily through a magazine which somebody must have left on the seat. He is surprised to see a drawing of Jesus on the cross. His thoughts go back to his childhood on the farm, to Sundayschool, to the stories his teacher told him about Jesus who died on the cross for our sins. His heart is moved, but only temporarily. The excitement about the big deal is coming back home to him. This other thing can wait, he keeps telling himself. "I know I should do something about my spiritual attitude, but I'll have plenty of time to think about such things, whenever this big deal is settled." How was he to know that the plane would crash only thirty miles from its destination! And there were no survivors ...

A farm in Israel (2,000 years ago): He had a better harvest this year than ever before. All the barns were filled and the whole day he had been working on plans for new and bigger barns. Now he would be able to sit down and rest and enjoy life. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" (LUKE 12:20).

Heaven can wait? You can live your life however you want and you can convince yourself of having much time. You can have plans to seek Christ as your Saviour - but not today. There may be more important or amusing things or so you may think. And yet heaven can wait. Can it really wait? It won't be your destination unless you have prepared yourself by active faith in Christ.

by Jo Ann Kilcrease

Translated from the German: "Der Himmel kann warten"

Source: 'The Pentecostal Evangelist'



(How can we be sure we have received the Holy Spirit? Read ACTS 2:4 once again. As soon as the Holy Spirit fills someone they start to speak in tongues [other languages]).