Planning the Most Important Journey of Your Life
“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:20-21
Most of us spend considerable time planning ordinary events.
Before going to Walmart, we make a shopping list. We compare prices. We decide the quickest route. We plan what we need and when we will go.
Before taking a vacation, we spend weeks or even months preparing. We reserve hotels, buy tickets, pack our luggage, and study maps so we will arrive safely at our destination.
Yet I am convinced that many people spend more time planning a trip to Walmart than they do planning the most important journey they will ever make—the journey into eternity.
That thought should give every one of us pause.
Everything Here Will Pass Away
Jesus continually reminded us not to become attached to the temporary things of this world.
He told us:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven.”
Every possession we own will someday belong to someone else.
Every house will eventually belong to another family.
Every automobile will wear out.
Even our own bodies will return to dust.
Everything on earth is temporary.
Only eternity lasts forever.
That realization has brought tremendous peace into my own life.
When disappointments come, I remind myself that they are temporary.
When suffering comes, it too is temporary.
When the evening news fills our hearts with violence, hatred, wars, and confusion, I remember that none of these things will last forever.
Even if we were to live one hundred years on this earth, it would still be only a tiny flicker when compared with eternity.
Are We Preparing for Heaven?
It is difficult to arrive at a destination we never intended to reach.
If someone asked you today where you planned to spend your next vacation, you could probably answer immediately.
But how many people regularly ask themselves:
“Am I preparing for Heaven?”
The devil surely delights whenever people become so busy with earthly concerns that they never seriously prepare for eternal life.
He doesn’t have to convince people that God doesn’t exist.
Often, he merely distracts them long enough that they never make God the center of their lives.
Days become weeks.
Weeks become years.
Years become a lifetime.
Then eternity arrives.
Two Very Different Destinations
Scripture speaks clearly about two eternal destinations.
Heaven
Imagine a place filled with perfect peace.
No sickness.
No tears.
No loneliness.
No fear.
No hatred.
No jealousy.
No anxiety.
There we will finally see God face to face.
We will be with our Eternal Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints who have gone before us.
Every longing of the human heart will finally be fulfilled.
Perfect love.
Perfect joy.
Perfect peace.
Forever.
Hell
In complete contrast stands the tragedy of eternal separation from God.
Scripture describes it as a place without peace.
A place of darkness.
A place of regret.
A place where pride, hatred, selfishness, rebellion, and despair never end.
Everything that separates us from God reaches its terrible conclusion there.
God desires that no one should choose that path, but He also respects the freedom He has given each of us.
The choice is ours.
Building Treasures That Last Forever
How do we prepare for Heaven?
Not by earning God’s love, because His grace is always His gift.
But we respond to that grace by living faithfully each day.
We prepare through:
- Daily prayer that keeps our hearts close to God.
- Receiving the sacraments faithfully.
- Reading Sacred Scripture.
- Loving our neighbor.
- Forgiving those who hurt us.
- Caring for the poor and those in need.
- Offering our sufferings to Christ.
- Living lives of humility, gratitude, and charity.
- Seeking God’s mercy whenever we fall through sincere repentance.
Every act of love becomes an eternal investment.
Every sacrifice offered to God has lasting value.
Every soul we help draw closer to Christ becomes a treasure that will never disappear.
Where Do You Want to Spend Eternity?
Someday every one of us will take the journey from this life into eternity.
The question is not if we will make that journey.
The question is where we will arrive.
If we devote hours planning vacations, careers, retirement, and even shopping trips, shouldn’t we spend even more time preparing for the one destination that lasts forever?
Heaven is worth every prayer.
Every sacrifice.
Every act of love.
Every effort to follow Christ.
For compared with eternity, this life is only the briefest moment.
So let us begin today.
Let us pray more faithfully.
Love more generously.
Forgive more quickly.
Serve more joyfully.
And each day, let us continue storing up treasures where they will never fade away.
Because when our earthly journey is finished, nothing will matter more than hearing those beautiful words spoken by our Savior:
“Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your Master.” — Matthew 25:23
Reflection:
Today, ask yourself one simple question: “If I were planning my journey to Heaven with the same care I plan my everyday activities, what would I do differently?” Then begin taking those steps today, trusting in God’s grace to lead you home.
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Rik Herring
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