The Answerer

You choose…and I thank you for this very important question.

If your Mum, Dad, uncle or anybody else you know was a Christian, a missionary or even a preacher, that will not get you into heaven. You make the decision yourself to accept what Jesus said as true, or that it is a load of rubbish. That decides whether or not you go to heaven.

As a child, God will not send you to hell. Jesus never mentioned the word children and hell together. While you are a child you just do not know enough yet to make the choice. Later on in life we all make a choice to accept God and Jesus as the true God; or you say to yourself ’I cannot believe all that rubbish about God and the Bible.’ (Most who say that have never read the Bible, but they know without reading it that it is all a load of rubbish.)

When Jesus raised Lazarus to life after his four days in the tomb, He told Lazarus’ sister, Martha: ’I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish.’ (John chapter 11 verses 25-26).

That is your guarantee! Believing is the first step. Believing in Jesus means that you want to follow His way and his teaching for the rest of your life. Do not treat this belief lightly! Just say a simple prayer to Jesus – tell him that you want to be in his family and not go to hell. He will know exactly what is in your heart. Then get hold of a Bible and begin reading, and I suggest John (the story of Jesus told by John), then Luke and make a habit of reading a bit each day.

Finally, mix with people who are in His family – not in a particular church, but be around Christian people who enjoy life and have fun as well. Being a Christian is not being perfect, always serious and careful of every little thing you say and do. There are many such Christian ’fun’ people in my town and they have lots of fun and enjoy life very much. ’Seek and you will find.’ Jesus said that. I know that in Western Australia, Scripture Union Christians love Jesus and the Bible but also have lots of ’fun’.