Who Gets to Go to Heaven?

 Today you will be with me in Paradise ~ Luke 23:43

If anyone is guilty of judging others, it's me.  I was the one who ran around pointing out everyone else's flaws while overlooking my own mistakes.  Remember Saul?  The one who dedicated his life to killing the misfits who did not believe in the god he believed in?  I was Saul's alter ego.  The biggest problem with my thinking is that the world would be completely empty if I were allowed to judge.

Sometimes, like Saul, we get so far off track, we need God to intervene.  Go ahead.  Stop looking at everyone else's weaknesses and look in the mirror instead.  Do you honestly think you should be allowed to go to Heaven?  I know I am not eligible.  This is why Jesus tells us nobody gets to Heaven except through Him.  Without Jesus, each and every one of us is locked out.

So, if we are not good enough to get to Heaven on our own, how do we get there? The answer is simple...follow Jesus.  He only asks a few things of you, be sorry for your mistakes, ask Him to forgive you, and forgive those who have hurt you.  Don't forget to love them, that is the ultimate act of forgiveness.  Leave the judging to Jesus.  If you can do these things, Jesus will make sure you go to Heaven.  It was His last act before dying for your sins.  The thieve on the cross asked Jesus to remember him.  Jesus told him, "before this day is over, you will be with me in paradise."