Replacing the Joy of Knowing God with a Place

We have made the issue of the afterlife about heaven and hell. Jesus didn't come to offer us heaven or hell. He came to offer us life. The choice isn't heaven or hell but life and death (see John 3:16-18).

What type of life did Jesus offer? Eternal life. What is eternal life? Jesus Himself told us, "This is eternal life to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent" (John 17:3).

So the real issue is about knowing God now and forevermore not about a place we go to after we die. Once again we have replaced a person with a place. We have removed God from the question about what happens when we die and made it about a destination. Jesus, who is life, came to offer us Himself, a life where we get to know Him and His Father in love from now to eternity.