“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51
Jesus is on a mission. The plan and purpose for his journey to earth were about to unfold in the place called Jerusalem. He carefully carried out the Father’s plan preparing the way for humanity to return to their intended place of companionship with God.
A close personal relationship with the godhead is like that. God has a plan and purpose for your life. He has a place in mind for you. Much like Jesus, your earthly journey has an intended outcome. For humanity, that outcome is to return to the garden’s intended place of fellowship.
Religion has pushed an agenda that, although it is not incorrect, is misplaced. The number one priority of the Christ-follower is not to see how many souls they can bring into heaven. The number one priority of the Christ-follower is to get close to God. In getting close to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, you will have the opportunity to talk to people about a relationship with God. The Bible clarifies that not everyone will listen nor accept what you have to say. In one place, Jesus tells his disciples to wipe the dust from their sandals and move one.
Such a close personal relationship will take the Christ-follower to many places, but the Father’s place for you is eternal. For simplicity’s sake, I will say heaven. It is essential not to forget that humanity is created like God, living forever. God is interested in preparing you for the place he has—in heaven—far more than providing you comfort or ease while going through the plan and purpose of earth.
This is not to say that a life of hardship is what you have to look forward to. It is, however, to say that your focus must always remain on heaven rather than earth. Jesus lived this way while on earth, and the Apostle Paul has a lot to say about the subject in his writings.
Too often, our focus is on the here-and-now, which can lead to hard-hearts or selfish wants, thus missing the bigger picture of God’s place for you—in heaven.
Realizing that the plan and purpose were set in motion, Jesus “resolutely” set his focus on getting to the place—Jerusalem. Jerusalem was important to both Christ and humanity because this is where the plan and purpose were fulfilled because of Christ’s obedience.
The same is true for you, the Christ-follower. Your plan and purpose have been set in motion, so the next step is to “resolutely” set your focus on getting to the place called heaven. Although that may sound good (in preacher language, it will preach) but what does it mean?
Like Jesus, you must settle it in your heart that you are on a mission to a designated place, and nothing, absolutely nothing, can be allowed to get in your way.
The following verses of Luke’s story talk about a certain village not accepting Jesus because he was headed to Jerusalem. Angered, his disciples suggested a harsh discipline, to which Jesus replied, let’s go to another village.
In other words, there was no time for arguing, no time to prove right or wrong, and no time to be held up or detained from the focus of getting to the place. Your focus is heaven—it is your place ordained by the Father. Your plan and purpose are to get close to God and, in doing so, will encourage others to do the same. There is no time to delay or procrastinate; get up, get going, and get it done.