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The Agony of Falling Short In describing heaven Peter writes, "to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1.4). Paul spoke of striving for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, Philippians 3.13. Time after time we are encouraged to do everything we can to be faithful and go to heaven. We are told to lay aside every weight that hinders us, Hebrews 12.1; to compete for the imperishable crown, 1 Corinthians 9.25; to set our minds on things above and not on things on this earth, Colossians 3.2. A couple of weeks ago I thought of this while watching the college national basketball game. I thought of the joy of those who won and the agony of those who failed. You see, as a basketball fan I could see my team winning the championship. For the first time in a number of years the University of Kentucky had the real possibility of winning it all. But they lost to West Virginia in the round of eight. They almost made it to the final four, but that did not help the feeling of utter disappointment. Then as I watched the final game between Duke and Butler I saw the emotion of pure joy as Duke won. They spoke of the sacrifices and work involved in winning. On the other hand I saw the disappointment of the Butler team. Their players did not walk off the court satisfied with almost being the champions. They walked off with their heads down, tears running down from their eyes, and thinking of how close they came. I am not going to compare heaven to winning a basketball game. There is no comparison for heaven as eternal and the place of God. Whereas the joy of the basketball game is temporary and quickly fades away. Don't believe me? How many years does it take for the fans to start complaining when their team does not win another championship? My point is how happy those that get to heaven will be and how sad everyone else will be. Those that almost make it, they got close but not quite, will not be satisfied with almost. We have the song "Almost Persuaded" which has in the third stanza the following: Almost persuaded harvest is past! Almost persuaded, doom comes at last! Almost cannot avail; Almost is but to fail; Sad, sad, that bitter wail -- Almost-- but lost! Who is the writer talking about? Perhaps the person that has studied the Bible and keeps on putting off obeying the Gospel. George (not his real name) attended every service with his wife. He had earlier promised his mother that he would not become a member of "that church." Even after his mother's death he did not obey the Gospel of Christ, although he knew the truth. Henry had promised to have a study with me after he got out of the hospital. A few days later I got a call early one morning. George had suddenly died before his test in the hospital. I cannot but think that George would be one of those wailing "Almost but lost." Perhaps the Christian that fell away. Everyone knows someone that used to be a member of the Lord's body but became unfaithful. They often blame others for their digression, but it will not matter on The Day of Judgment. When you get down to it, it will not matter why you are lost; it will only matter that you are lost. As disappointing as it is to fall short of a goal in this life, it will be vastly more so on the other side of the grave. For it will be for eternity. Those that will hear, "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness"(Matthew 7.23) will have forever to think about what could have been. It is my hope you and I will never experience such disappointment. --Dennis Tucker
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