Those who believe in God and have studied the Bible much at all know that one day God’s children will go to heaven.

The thing that seems to evade the mind of some, however, is that preparation has to be made for this to be possible. This preparation requires effort on the parts of those who will be going to heaven and from God.

God has done His preparation. Jesus said of this, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" ( John 14:1-3).

Heaven waits for those who make preparation to go. The preparation on man’s part requires more than just believing in God. It requires obedience to God’s word.

"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Heb. 5:8,9). "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev. 20:12).

God did not leave man to find his own way to prepare. God in His word has given examples of how the preparation is to be made. In the book of Acts it is seen that the gospel of Christ was preached to men. It tells of the sacrifice made by Christ for mankind, how He was crucified for the sins of all men and how he died, was buried and then arose from the grave, triumphant over death. Paul wrote to those at Corinth to remind them of this very thing. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (I Cor. 15:1-4).

We can make this same preparation today. If we have faith in Christ as the Son of God, turn from our sins, willingly confess His name among men, and are baptized for the remission of our sins, and live faithfully to God for all our lives, we will be able to go to heaven. Let’s all work to that end.