Excited About Death?

“Mommy, when are we all gonna die so we can go to Heaven and see Jesus?” – Kayla Seymour (age 5).

“Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die.” – David Crowder Band

Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

My wife and daughter were sitting on the couch yesterday and Kayla, my oldest, asks her the question above, “Mommy, when are we all gonna die so we can go to Heaven and see Jesus?” I was sitting in my recliner and had to ask if I just heard what I heard, and Erin affirmed the question.

We explained death to Kayla, as we have had friends pass and family, but more then anything we focus on Christ and where He is. We continue to tell her that Heaven is where you will meet Jesus. She knows that is where her little brother, Tobiah, is waiting for her, but she really wants to meet Christ and if that means dying, she seems to be alright with that.

Are we like that? If you were asked right now, “You could meet Jesus now, but you have to die right now?” How would you answer? Well, could it wait a year or two so I can see my children grow up? I just received a raise and my life here is going pretty great, so could it wait a few more years? So many in my family would be sad by the loss, that I should stay here, because it is important for them. Or would you say, “Yes, I want to be with my Savior, whom without I would be dead anyway.”

Don’t get me wrong, I think we should be like Christ here and should enjoy the life God gave us, but where is our real focus – here or Heaven? In the end, where is our loyalty, the world or Christ? Are you so in love with Him that you long to be with Him now? If not, why not? Do you ever wonder when you are going to get to see Jesus, and wish it was sooner then later? Are you like the David Crowder song mentioned above, “Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Isn’t this the truth, we all say we want to go to Heaven, but we don’t want to die, but in reality that is how we get to Heaven.

My daughter went on to ask a bunch of questions about Heaven, but that one could not get out of my head. “Am I so excited about seeing Jesus that I am wondering when I am going to die.” Of course the rapture may come first, but that is just another excuse. The point is, how much do we really want to be with Jesus.

Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”