The following is a summary of the discussion with my 99 ½ year old Mother on November 9, 2025. Present with me was my wife, Diane.
“Hi Mom, Its Jim and Diane.”
“Oh, it is so good to see you. We have a lot of things to catch up on.”
“Yes, but I have one thing I wanted to talk about.”
“My going out?”
“Yes. Last time we talked about you going out, you said you were going to hell.”
“I did? Can I take my words back?! I don’t want to go to hell!”
“The Bible tells us we have a choice. It’s our decision to make. When a person dies, their soul goes to heaven or hell—one of those two places. But the determination can only be made before death. You mentioned that you led an imperfect life.”
“Yes.”
“The Bible calls that “sin” and further says that all of us are guilty of sin or as you say, leading an imperfect life.”
“So what do I do?”
“The Bible says that you must believe.”
“Believe what? I’ve led a pretty good life.”
“Yes, but as you said, an imperfect one.”
“Yes.”
“But that can be corrected, right now.”
“But how?”
“What is required is belief. A confession of your belief.”
“How do I know it is true?
“You can know by faith. A commitment without knowing the result. God has set life up that we cannot know with certainty the future, but we can know by faith. Faith is the requirement to get into heaven. No one can be certain or prove that God is true or prove that God is false for that matter. So we make a decision to believe by faith, without knowing the certainty of the result of our decision.”
“Belief in what?”
“Belief that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sins by His death on the cross and thereby sins are forgiven. The bible says God is a just God, that the penalty for sin is hell or eternal separation from God and His heaven and that all must pay that penalty–because all have sinned. So, God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on our behalf, as a gift, to pay the penalty for us so that we would have eternal life in heaven. That is grace. In order to obtain eternal life after you die on earth, you must trust this with a confession of belief.”
“Are you going to heaven Jim?”
“Yes, I have accepted Jesus Christ as my substitutionary payment which gives me the confidence that I am going to heaven when I die. It is my hope that you will make the same decision so that you will have the confidence of going to heaven when you die. It would be a great comfort for me to have the knowledge for the rest of my life that my Mom is in heaven and I will meet her there when I die.
“So what do I do between now and when I die? Can I get to heaven right now?”
“You, by faith, make the decision and wait in faith for that day to come.”
“Diane, are you going to heaven?”
“Yes, I made that decision by faith. I have the peace and joy that comes with having made that decision. I am looking forward to heaven where there is no more suffering or pain or tears and we will have an eternity with love, peace and joy.”
“Will my whole family go to heaven?”
“Only if they individually make that same decision before they die.”
“That would be so great to have my whole family go to heaven.”
Would you like to make that decision and confess your belief?”
“Yes! That is what I want. This is so simple. And its free!”
“Then let’s pray. Just repeat after me, out loud.”
“I am a sinner and need for you to forgive my sins.” She repeats.
“I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins.” She repeats.
“To pay the penalty on my behalf so that I will have eternal life in heaven after I die.” She repeats.
“Mom, you now have the confidence and peace that you will have eternal life in heaven when you die. The apostle John wrote: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
I noticed a tear in her eye. Her countenance lifted and we talked some more. She said she felt like she might make it to 100. She was a new creature. The old is gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5;17).
Hallelujah!!
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