Picture it…you’ve been working outside under the hot sun for hours. You are hot and sweaty, tired, and oh, so thirsty, but the only cold water is a mile away. What do you do? You start walking, of course. It is the longest, most difficult mile you have ever walked, but when you get there you find a cooler filled with bottles of ice water. Ah, finally!

You lift the lid of the cooler and stare down at the bottles of water. After a moment you pick one up and press it to your face; enjoying the cold wetness. But it only takes a moment for you to realize your throat is still parched, your lips are still dry and cracked, and you are still thirsty. Why is that? It’s because in order to have your thirst quenched you have to open the bottle and drink what’s inside.

The same is true when it comes to spending eternity in heaven with God. In order for an eternity in heaven with God to be a ‘sure thing,’ you have to open the bottle and drink it up, so to speak.

And who wouldn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want to spend eternity with God—the creator of the universe, the one who took the time to make you just-so, and the one who loves you so much that He gave His own Son over to be a human sacrifice for your sins (and mine).

Jesus’ death on the cross was that sacrifice. But His death was not the end. Three days later Jesus rose from the grave and forty days after that He returned to heaven to wait for the time God sends Him back to bring those who are saved to heaven for all eternity.

While you are waiting for that day to come, drink up and fill your heart, soul, and mind with everything Jesus offers so that you can live faithfully, obediently, and with the assurance that heaven is your eternal home.