A Sunday school teacher was tasked to explain to six-year-olds in his class, what someone had to do in order to go to heaven and in this endeavor, he questioned his class on this subject.
“If I sold the things I love, like my house and my car, and gave all my money to the Church, would that get me into heaven?”
“NO!” the children all answered.
“If I prayed to God everyday and if I attended the church every Sunday, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?”
Again the answer was “NO!”
“Well then,” he said, “If I loved my wife dearly, and be kind to animals and gave to the poor, would that get me into heaven?”
Again they all shouted “NO!”
“Well then, how can I get into heaven?”
A boy in the back row stood up and shouted, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD”.
Not all who call Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he/she who does the will of God, the Father, who is in heaven (Mathew 7:21) will enter into heaven. His will is what may seem at first to be an oxymoron, which is for us to be a living sacrifice (living for Him; dying to all others). God wants us to totally surrender to this will of His, and in order for us to surrender all to Jesus, we must be dead to sin, and be dead to self and be willing to die for Him (our Lord and Savior).
We GOTTA BE DEAD so that it is no longer we who live but Christ Jesus that lives in us (Galatians 2:2o).
Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
