The basic message of Christianity is a simple one - if you accept Jesus as your savior, you will be saved and you will spend eternity with God in Heaven when you die. Yet, there must be more to it than that, for even a quick reading of the Gospels makes it clear that Heaven is a tough place to get into.
Jesus warns us repeatedly that few will enter the Kingdom. In Luke 13:22, his disciples ask, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?' He said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." This exchange in Mark between Jesus and the rich man is particularly important:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
If all we have to do to enter heaven is follow Jesus, then why is it so hard for this rich man to be saved? The path to Jesus and salvation lay before him, but he will not take the final, important step. The same can be said for millions of people today - they will not take the final step to give their lives to Jesus. Why not?
Accepting Christ can be very difficult to do, especially for those who are deeply rooted in this world. These are people whose primary interest - the thing that really drives them - is success, money, power or possessions. The more emphasis someone places on these things things, the harder it will be for them understand that they need God.
Surrender
God's message is all about submission and total surrender to Him. For some, this is completely incompatible with their ultimate goal of success here in this world. Some people need more than anything to be the ruler of their own lives and cannot submit to God. They want to be in control. For others, they cannot see past the money and power this world has to offer. They will let nothing come between them and their worldly goals.
These people will not seek God. Instead, they will turn their backs on Him and want nothing to do with Him. This attitude will make it difficult for them to be saved and puts them in very real danger of making the choice to be apart from God when they die. Sadly, that will be their choice, not God's.
If you're in this category - if power, wealth and success drive you and the message of the Gospel seems to make no sense at all, take a moment, step back and see life from a larger perspective. Can this really be all there is? Is there any amount of success or wealth that will remain with you when you die? Do these things really make you happy, or do they seem at odds with the purpose for which you were put on this earth? Please do yourself a favor and take an honest, open look at the Gospel message and let it penetrate your heart. You can find dozens of articles on this site which make the case for Jesus and why you need Him in your life right now. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help, and most importantly, let us know if we can pray for you.