1 John 5:13 (ESV)
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Can you know for sure that you are going to heaven? This is the conversation starter in one of the evangelistic tracts. And it is not an idle question but a rather crucial one. The apostle John, while writing to the believers in his day, answers this question in the affirmative – that it is possible to know for sure. In fact, he goes a step further and assures the believer that they have eternal life. This is one of the reasons as to why he writes this epistle – that the believer may know.
This knowledge that our eternity is secured frees the believer from the fear of eternal damnation. One can look forward with hope and realign his/her life in a manner that better reflects the heavenly picture. To know for sure that heaven is guaranteed to us who have believed should be a cause of great praise. God, in His great mercies, has granted us who were once His enemies to share eternity with Him. And to seal the deal, He has given us His Spirit as a guarantee even as Ephesians 1:13-14 puts it:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Reflections
1. Do you know for sure that you will go to heaven when you die?
2. Why do we sometimes find it difficult to believe that our eternity is secured?
3. In what way(s) has today’s devotion impacted you?