i don't want to go to heaven when i die

It seems like everyone wants to go to heaven when they die. I don't. I want to go to heaven right now.

It's not that I don't believe in literal heaven or hell anymore. I do. I've seen them both. Here's the deal. If you haven't entered heaven now, I don't think you will enter after you die either. Each and every one of us choose how we respond every single moment of every single day. We either enter heaven or enter hell. We really don't go anywhere (although I know going is a common way people say other strange things, like go to work, go to church, go to hell). We enter heaven by following Jesus. We enter hell by rejecting Jesus. Jesus is the only way to the Father, which is another way of saying Jesus is the only way to Heaven. This does not mean that when I die God pulls out my address book, and if Jesus Christ is the first name, then I get to go through the Pearly Gates. It also doesn't mean that all other religions, philosophies, or sciences are false. What it does mean is that heaven looks just like Jesus, so the only way to see heaven today is to see Jesus. Today. The only way to enter heaven today is to enter Jesus. Today.

Entering Jesus is like entering into a relationship. What does that really mean? Do I really enter the space between myself and another person? Do I enter the words and activities we share? Do I enter into their skin? No. I give myself over to someone. I make certain commitments, and I give up some of my rights to respond certain ways. I forsake other ways of living, even if they are reasonable, even if they’re ok for other people, for the sake of what I have entered. I do things with them. I do things for them. I may even do things in their name. If I enter into the relationship completely, then it could even be said that I am one with the other person.

And it’s not like there’s really some judgment day coming where God is waiting to either smack you dead and make you go to hell, or if you’ve gotten everything right to let you go to heaven. That implies that heaven and hell are not available now but are somehow reserved for later. It implies that where we live is earth, and heaven and hell are not allowed here. It implies that life is my domain and death is God’s domain. But God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. And this is why Jesus told us to pray:

Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
In earth as it is in heaven

There is a Day coming, but that Day is more like a moment of truth, a moment of true sight, a moment of fire testing the worth and purity and character and truth of everything, a moment when the veil is rolled back to reveal who's in heaven and who’s in hell. Or in other words, a veil is rolled back to reveal who's living in Jesus and who’s not. Or in other words, a veil is rolled back to reveal who's a child of God and who's a child of the devil. The children of God are the ones doing what God does. The children of the devil are the ones doing what the devil does. The children of God are the ones who entered heaven. The children of the devil are the ones who entered hell. People are entering today. It will be revealed on that Day when everything is laid bare. And when it happens, there will be a change in everyone and everything. It's just that we're not going anywhere we haven't already been. I think it will probably seem like it's all completely different because of how beautiful everything will be when all this junk is stripped away and burned off, but it will be the same people and the same place, only all new and better.

And don't get me wrong about ushering the kingdom to earth. I am definitely interested in bringing the kingdom to earth like Jesus said, but I am not interested in building any kingdom because there is no kingdom to build. Keep your money. The thing that is so true about the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is that another world, another realm, another kingdom is as close as the next room. It's as available as opening a closet door. It's as near as the next choice you make. The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Some have already passed from death to life. Some of us are in heaven. Some of us are in hell. If you’re waiting for heaven when you die, I’d go ahead and dig up your one talent and put it on deposit with the bankers so at least you get some of God’s interest. Have a go at it. Because if you think that God is coming back for buried treasure, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.