If I Miss Heaven, How Can I Blame God?

by
Gene Poore

Every person who has lived or is alive is destined for everlasting reality.
Scripture calls it everlasting life or everlasting punishment, or, simply, Heaven
or Hell. However, to rationalize against going to Hell, many quote scripture
saying, “The Lord is . . . not willing that any should perish. . . .” (2 Peter
3:9.) That verse, they contend, predestines all humanity to Heaven. That untruth
misleads souls weak in scripture knowledge, because the rest of that verse
reflects God’s real wish: “All should come to repentance.” Thus, if I don’t
repent, and I miss Heaven, how can I blame God?
Repentance leavens me to Heaven’s gate. When I refuse to repent, I lock
Heaven’s latch against my entry. When I repent, Hell loses power over my soul. If
I don’t repent, how can I blame God? God tells me in His Instruction Book how to
repent.
God’s inspired Book has endured persecution and false witnesses. God’s Book
has been profaned, cursed, burned, spit on, and ripped apart. God’s Tome has
experienced misinterpretation, misuse, abuse, and proliferated for selfish gain.
However, when rightly divided, God’s Book is the road map to Heaven. God’s Spirit
Inspired Literature relates the Way to Heaven, the Truth about Heaven, and the
Life in Heaven. Holy Writ reveals God’s prerequisite for strolling Golden Streets
in that far country called Heaven. If I don’t read God’s Instruction Book, and I
miss that far country called Heaven, how can I blame God?
Since no one has returned from that far country to provide directions, we
who are left behind remain unsure of its location. We have no idea of the
transport needed nor what provisions to make before departure. When we seek proper
counsel, we discover no one knows all the answers; many know some answers; others
refer us to God’s Instruction Book.
As a seeker, can I refuse to read God’s Instruction Book? When I read God’s
instructions, do I read only the parts that agree with preconceived ideas of how
to reach that far country called Heaven? Do I ignore that Jesus is the means of
transport to that far country called Heaven? Do I ignore planning for the trip? Do
I believe others who say the far country will accept me regardless of my
preparations? Yet, what if the keeper of the gate blocks my entrance into that far
country? Whom do I blame? That far country? Other people? God’s Instruction Book?
God?
If I miss Heaven, how can I blame God? God’s Book provides roadmap guidance
to that far country called Heaven. If I follow the roadmap, God promised a reward
of everlasting life at the end of my journey. However, if I ignore the roadmap in
God’s Book, the punishment is also everlasting. Therefore, I must read God’s Book
to find the Way, the Truth, and that Life everlasting.
Thus, if I miss Heaven, how can I blame God? God formed His Church, a body
of believers who assemble in an identifiable building. God’s structure stands as a
beacon in a dark storm, a place of refuge from troubled waters, a sanctuary for
prayer, worship, and the reading of God’s Instruction Book, which, like a two-
edged sword, separates carnal from spiritual. God’s building is where believers
gather to preach and teach from God’s Instruction Book to touch every conscience.
God implanted my conscience to point at misdirection. If I ignore my
conscience, I allow society to guide my tendencies. If I ignore my conscience, I
allow a progressive creep of profanity and vulgarity to overcome my sensitivity to
wrongdoing. My God given conscience, although buried under society’s carnal filth,
jabs convicting fingers into my heart. My conscience glares red lights against
wrongdoing. If I run through my conscience’s stoplight, how can I blame God?
If I miss Heaven, how can I blame God? God formed His Church--spiritual and
material. God implanted my conscience that I must feed with spiritual stimuli to
starve carnal corruption. However, if I ignore my conscience, God listens to
prayer. When others pray for me, their prayer helps strengthen my conscience.
 Prayer is a weapon from God’s love. I can say truthfully that loved ones and
friends have lifted me in prayer, a prayer for my repentance, or a prayer for my
salvation. I, in turn, identify others to God, or collectively consider others
when I ask God to touch hardhearted communities and neighborhoods.
If I miss Heaven, clearly, I can’t blame anyone who uplifts me in prayer or
collectively considers me in their prayers to God. If I miss Heaven, I can’t blame
God if I ignore God’s Church. I can’t blame God if I ignore my screaming
conscience. Neither can I blame God if I ignore God’s gift of sorrow.
Sorrow might seem like a strange gift from God, but, if not for sorrow, how
can I regret actions in my life? How can I sense my sinful state? Because of
sorrow, I understand my need to repent, “For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. . . .” (Romans 3:23.)
When I repent, and ask God into my life, God sends His Spirit. Then when I
examine God’s Instruction Book, God’s convicting Spirit enlightens me to that not
known, but now seen in scripture and sensed in my heart. God’s Spirit unwraps
society’s transparent misconception of good versus evil. God’s Spirit touches my
heart with recognition of sin, and then nudges me toward another of God’s gifts--
the Remedy for sin.
God’s Remedy for sin is the Cross of Calvary. The Cross of Calvary is the
redemption promised in Genesis 3:15 and the salvation announced in the Four
Gospels. Christ completed this Remedy when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, “It is
finished.” (John 19:30.)
Yes, Jesus finished God’s salvation work. I can accept or I can reject God’s
Remedy, because “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(Romans 10:13.) Yet, merely speaking the Lord’s name is not salvation. Scripture
tells me I must confess with my “mouth the Lord Jesus,” and then believe in my
heart that “God hath raised him from the dead. . . .” (Romans 10:9.) That is my
salvation.
Thus, I ponder. If I miss Heaven, how can I blame God? God inspired the
Bible to tell about Heaven and Hell. God formed His Church to stress Heaven over
Hell. God embedded a conscience to prod me toward Heaven and away from Hell. God
answers Prayer to redirect me away from Hell. God allows sorrow to remind me daily
of Hell. God’s Holy Spirit convicts me away from Hell. God’s Son shed blood on the
Cross as a Remedy for the disease of Hell.
With all that help, if I miss Heaven, how can I blame God? I can only blame
me. God gave me every tool. All God asks in return for my salvation is that I
repent and accept His Son Jesus as my personal Savior. Therefore, if I miss
Heaven, how can I blame God?