Why is It So Hard to Get Into Heaven?
By Makayla Thompson
Why is it so hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? This is a very common question that people often ask. Now, they are right. It is very hard to enter, but it is not impossible (Luke 1:37) because you have God to lead you through the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23).
Back when Jesus was physically on the Earth in Luke 10:25-37 a certain lawyer asked him, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He answering said, What is written in the law? How readest thou? And answering he said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And then he said unto him, Thou hast answering right; this do, and thou shalt live. But, he willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, passed by the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
Now, I know this is a quite popular parable, but Jesus revealed to me that it is way more deep than just treating others well in his eyes. This scripture is the guide to heaven. Imagine if we all just lived this scripture. Now I want to explain this scripture in full detail. So, at first there was a lawyer (someone “admirable” in the world’s eyes) who asked Jesus, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life.” Notice that he asked this question for himself. Not for God. He asked, “What shall I do?” He said I.
We Christians must understand that salvation is for us. For you. Jesus suffered for you. He died for you, then rose three days later. Was crucified for you. Hung on that cross for you. For your salvation. He did it for you. Not for himself or his own pleasure. For you, and me. He didn’t have to do that. He could have just let everyone go to hell and be condemned. It wouldn’t have affected him one bit. But, he loves you and cares about you. You were worth it in his eyes. It is your choice if you will be willing to pick up that cross, carry it on a daily basis and follow Jesus. It is for you.
You can choose, life or death. Nobody can choose for you. You make that choice yourself. After the lawyer asked Jesus that for himself he replied, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” Jesus asked him if you read your bible then what does the law say? "And he answering said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” This scripture that the lawyer cited is actually also in Deuteronomy 6:5.
Then Jesus replied, “Thou hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt live.” Notice that all the lawyer said was just this one commandment. He didn’t even list the others. He just listed that one commandment. And Jesus said that he was right. So how could this possibly be it. How can this particular commandment lead us to heaven? Well, it is all surrounded by love. Love is the foundation. God=Love. Love is the foundation and you have to love God with only four particular things. First, with all your heart. Second, with all your soul. Third, with all your strength. Fourth with all your mind. It goes in this exact order. Heart, soul, strength, mind.
Now why is it so hard to get into heaven? It is so hard because Satan steals all of these things. He steals the heart, then the soul, then the strength, then lastly the mind. In this exact order. Now how do we know this well, in Daniel 7:3-8 he describes his vision of the four beasts of hell. The first one, which is the lion, his job is to steal the heart. The second one, which is the bear, his job is to steal the born again’s soul. The third one, which is a leopard, his job is to take away the strength. The fourth one, which is Lucifer himself, his job is to finish the job. He will stomp on the heart, then the soul, then the strength, then the mind.
Now this is why it is so hard to get into the kingdom. How are we supposed to inherit eternal life if Lucifer and his beasts are working against us. Working against all the things we need to serve God. The heart, the soul, the strength, then the mind. But, we must remember as long as we have God it is possible (Luke 1:37). Lucifer stole all of those from humanity all the way back in Genesis 3:1-7. He stole the heart first while Adam and Eve fell into sin. He captured the heart because the heart causes humans to either do evil or good. The heart causes you to sin. Satan captured the heart.
Now you need a heart, it’s an essential to the human body, that’s why he captured it. Now because of Lucifer we have a deceitful and desperately wicked heart (Jeremiah 17:9). Sounds like Satan, right? Then after he had stolen the heart, he stole the soul. He stole the soul so he could have “dominion” over them and all the people of their seed (us). Now we have the flesh, the carnal nature. It is just in our bloodline. Now everyone that is born is of the sinful nature now. Then he stole the strength. He had full control over Adam and Eve once they were kicked out of paradise. Now they were sorrowful and desireful of the flesh. Losing power=Sin. Then lastly the mind. He cursed humanity to be carnally minded instead of spiritually minded.
In Romans 8:5-6 it explains what the difference between the two are. So Lucifer now has full control over humanity’s heart, soul, strength, and mind… until Jesus steps in. You may be thinking that it seems impossible to enter the kingdom since Lucifer is now in full control of humanity. But, Jesus is way stronger than Lucifer by far. Jesus’s children are way more stronger than Lucifer. Satan never won. He just wants you to believe that he won so you’ll be condemned. He never won. Jesus is stronger (1 John 4:4). Jesus is a healer (Matthew 13:10-16). So, don’t lose hope (Romans 6:17-18). Not only do you have to love God with all the things the enemy stole, but you also have to love your neighbor as yourself.
In Luke 10:30-36, Jesus told the lawyer these three human scenarios. First, the priest. Second, the Levite. Third, the Samaritan. The priest and the Levite did not help the man at all; they saw him struggling and hurting and they just kept on walking. But, the Samaritan actually came to the man with compassion and went and took care of him then handed him over to the “host” which is God.
Take care of people physically and spiritually… that is Christianity. Jesus asked the lawyer which one did the right thing? The lawyer said the man who showed mercy on him (Samaritan). Then Jesus said now you go and do that. All you need to inherit the kingdom is to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and to love others as yourself. Because if you loved God you wouldn’t sin (John 14:15). If you loved others you would share the gospel (John 16:19-31& Luke 4:18). God Bless, Amen!.