Let me tell you why I ask this.

My hubby and I were having a discussion with his parents a while back, and his step-mom said this, "You know, I bet we'll be amazed when we get up to Heaven and see who's there. There will probably be some people that you expected to see who aren't there. And then there will be some that you never thought you'd see in Heaven standing right there with you."

That statement stuck with me for a while, and later on I said to my husband, "Okay, I guess I understand what she meant by people I expected to see there who won't be there. I mean, I'm sure there are a lot of people who think they are Christian, but who really aren't in their hearts. Or some who claim to be saved but who aren't really born-again. But how would people be there that I didn't even know were Christian? What does that mean?"

And my hubby replied, "Well, hon... there are probably some people in the world who are embarrassed to be religious and who don't let others know that they are Christian. I knew a guy like that once -- one of my good friends from high school. He really did love God and he went to church every Sunday and enjoyed being a Christian. But I only knew that because I was close to him. Most people didn't know that about him."

I thought about that for a sec, and said, "Okay, but how can one really enjoy being a Christian and thoroughly love Christ, yet be embarrassed or ashamed of it? I mean, are they truly Christian, then, if that's the case?"

My hubby said, "Well, sure. If they are true in their hearts and accepted Christ as their savior, they'll go to Heaven. They're Christian. But unfortunately, they probably won't have the same level of rewards in Heaven that strong, open Christians will get. And I bet when they get there, they'll regret it."

So a few minutes went by, and I said, "Well, I guess I can see why timid or introverted personalities would have a hard time being Christian. There are a lot of people out there who think enthusiastic, zealous Christians are freaks or weirdos."

And then I got to thinking. What about the middle of the road?

On one side, you have the strong Christians who may or may not be open and outward in their faith. Most are, and one would hope that at some point, every true Christian finds the strength and wisdom to be open and communicative about his/her faith.

On the other side, you have the atheists and the non-believers who absolutely refuse to acknowledge God and Christ as even being real.

But what about the middle of the road?

What about those people who say they believe in God... who may or may not declare themselves as Christians... who maybe have said some prayers here and there... who might have gone to church once or twice if they went at all... and who are generally really good people? They are good citizens, generous to those in need, not necessarily religious to the point where they pray or go to church on a regular basis, but they acknowledge God and maybe even Jesus Christ.

What about them? I know several people like this. One gal in particular comes to mind, who goes to church on holidays and considers herself to be a believer in God. She'll say things now and then like "thank God" or "I'll pray for you." She watches a bit of Joel Osteen, but that's the extent of her learning about Scripture and the Bible. She hasn't said the prayer of accepting Christ as her savior -- she said once that "she didn't feel comfortable going to that extreme." Once in a while she'll tell me that I need to "lighten up" on the religious stuff. Actually, one time she said to me, "Relax a little! I believe in God and know that He does great things, too. But you don't have to live it 24/7. You push people away when you do that. It's kind of weird." She even went on to suggest that I might be hindering my career or putting off great opportunities because of my immersion into Christianity. She meant well -- I don't feel angry or hurt or resentful of those comments. But it did get me thinking...

Even though people might not feel close enough to me or know me well enough (or are too polite) to say things like that, I bet they think it. And so for God's opinion on this subject, I turned to the Bible. I wanted to know. Was I laying it on too thick???? Were people like my friend going to go to Heaven just like me? Should I focus more on life itself versus reading and writing and talking about God all the time?

What does the Bible say?

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said this to his disciples:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (Mark 8:35-38)

In other words, it means this: If you want to be a true follower of Christ, forget about the life that you think you are going to make for yourself in this world. If you think you are going to strive for the ultimate life and go after all the great rewards here on earth, you are going to find yourself without life and without rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven. But if you give up your life and let Jesus take the lead, following him and trusting him to go wherever he leads you, then you shall have eternal life and eternal rewards in God's Kingdom. Yes, God wants you to find joy and experience life here on earth. But ultimately our purpose here is to find Christ and help others find Christ (as well as to love your neighbors and do good things in Christ's name). Why? Because God is preparing His eternal Kingdom. He wants to fill it with His people, and He wants to be sure that He gathers those who are loyal to Him and filled with His word. Why? Well, think of it like something out of our history books. Remember the explorers who went off to colonize new, uninhabited areas? Who did they choose to go with them? People who were loyal and honest and trustworthy and who would build up the new colony in peace, love and a genuine interest to see it succeed. The lead explorer wouldn't choose people who were against him or hated him or had their own ideas or agenda. Our purpose for life here on earth is for us to make the ultimate decision. Are you with God or against Him? Do you go with Christ, or do you do your own thing? Your "own thing" will eventually lead you to a destination that is not just unpleasant, but downright ugly and awful. But still many will choose it.

If you don't already understand, let me put it to you plainly. Your actions and beliefs here on earth decide what you'll get in the afterlife. What good is it to try to experience and acquire all the things here on earth if it costs you your eternal soul? What's the point of going after all these things here in this short life to forfeit all of eternity? What could there possibly be on earth that is more valuable and more important than price of your soul? I mean really. Is looking "cool" to friends more important than eternal life? How about that promotion or career you really want? That car? Your kids? Sports? That house? The game of golf? Partying? A fat bank account? Your reputation or status? If anyone is too ashamed to say that they want to live for Christ... if anyone is too embarrassed at the thought that they need to give their life for Christ... if anyone thinks that they're afraid of what their shallow friends and neighbors might say about them... or if anyone decides that there are things in life that are too important now to be focusing on religion... or thinks that they don't have to be a Christian to the degree that others are... or if anyone believes that it would be easier to just ignore Christ and God and the whole salvation thing and fly quietly under the radar...

Well, then Jesus said that he will ignore you, too, when you finally meet him face-to-face. Unfortunately, he will be as embarrassed and ashamed of you as you were of him. And he will tell you, "YOU made the choice and decided that you'd rather have those few earthly rewards than to have my eternal rewards here in Heaven. YOU made the decision that you didn't need me or want me. Be gone with you -- I never knew you." It's not that Jesus is mean. He is simply honoring what you chose. In a nutshell, one who ignores Christ here on earth is basically saying, "Hey, Jesus... I don't care about you or want to know you, so just leave me alone." So when you meet him in the afterlife, that's exactly what he'll do.

And off you will go.

Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "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. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.'

"But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'

"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'

"But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'

"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." (Luke 13:22-30)

Again, let me put that in layman's terms:

Jesus said to try as hard as you can to make sure you get through those gates of Heaven. Because you do NOT want to be locked out. Can you imagine eternity -- INFINITY -- being away from God and sent to Hell forever? Would you risk that for the life you have here for about 70 years or so on earth??? No way! Jesus said that there will be many who will realize when they meet him that they will not be allowed into Heaven with him. Can you imagine that realization? And you might cry and wail and beg and plead and say, "But, I believed in God! I said I believed in God! I prayed now and then... I went to church on holidays. I gave money to the poor!" And there will be anger and sorrow and pain as all of those people watch the ones who gave their life for him enter through the gates. All the people who prayed daily and truly loved Jesus and spent day after day in the Word of God... who confessed and recognized their sins... and who accepted Christ as their savior openly and willingly will be welcomed through the gates. The "first and last" statement he said? That means all of the people who didn't try to grab the big promotion in life, or who didn't focus on building up their big fat bank account, or who didn't care about being the best at everything, and who ultimately gave up being the biggest, fastest, hardest and first at everything here on earth will for sure be the first and best in Heaven. They will get the biggest rewards and the most praise. The difference between the first on earth who got their rewards and the first in Heaven who get their rewards is this: the Heavenly rewards are FOREVER.

And those who didn't attempt to live their lives for Jesus will spend eternity away from him in the darkness of Hell.

I'm sure Jesus will be so sad over that. I can imagine it would break his heart to see all of those people begging to be let in, trying to justify why they should be allowed to live with God for all eternity. But he will tell them all that they had their WHOLE lives here on earth to make the choice to be with him. Yet while here on earth, they were too "cool" to do that. They secretly thought that Christ's followers were freaks and wackos, and they didn't want to be like that. But there will be a day where they wish with every fiber of their soul that they had been exactly like that.

Because unfortunately, it's not very "cool" in the place they'll be spending eternity.

It's not God's or Christ's decision where you will end up. It is solely your choice.

To read more about how to be sure you'll go to Heaven, read this post:

Your Path In Life... Does It Lead To Heaven?