“1. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
- He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
- He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
- In whose eye a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not.
- He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” (Psalm 15:1 – 5)
From the Psalm above, there are eleven vivid characteristic traits of a heaven bound pilgrim which we shall be looking at. If these eleven characteristics are intact in your life, you are sure of making heaven at last. But if you lack them, you are only playing religion. Heaven at last would be a delusion and not a reality.
It is sad to say that with the trend of events in these last days, many believers are becoming less heaven bound. Many are losing focus of heaven. Materialism, worldliness, carnality and sensuality are more common these days than in the days of the Early Church. It is my prayer, that, as you read this article, God would stir up in you a passion for heaven.
Let us look at the eleven characteristics one after the other:
1. An Heaven Bound Pilgrim WALKS UPRIGHTLY.To walk uprightly is to walk honestly. It is to live a life of sincerity. It is to be morally good before God and man. A man who is on his way to heaven does not give room to presence or hypocrisy. He is upright in character and conduct. He is upright at home and abroad; upright in business and other engagements, religious or secular. He is not ‘crooked’ in ALL his ways.
- A Heaven Bound Pilgrim WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Righteousness characterizes the lifestyle of a heaven bound pilgrim. He is inwardly and outwardly righteous. His thoughts are righteous. Therefore, his actions are righteous. He does not struggle to live righteously. But does so with ease. He hates anything evil with a perfect hatred. To him, whatever is not righteous is not worth doing.
- A Heaven Bound Pilgrim SPEAKS THE TRUTH in His Heart.
He is so much in love with the truth that he is willing to die for it, if need be. Truth is part and parcel of his life. He both preaches and demonstrates the truth wherever he goes. He hates falsehood and everything false. Lie is an abomination to him and foreign to his mouth. He believes strongly, that, all liars shall be cast into the Lake of fire. He knows that truth is bitter, yet, stands for it. Because he also knows that, it is the bitter pill that does the greater good. His ‘Yes’ is yes and his ‘No’ is no.
- A Heaven Bound Pilgrim HATES BACKBITING.
He would rather tell you, in front of you, that a particular action of yours was wrong than talk about it with another person in your absence. He does not have time for backbiting. Gossip and slander, too, are far from him. He tries as much as he can to ‘paint’ everyone good. He, by no means, speaks evil of any.
- A Heaven Bound Pilgrim NEVER DOES EVIL To His Neighbor.
He is as “harmless as a dove.” He is very sensitive to the feelings of others. Therefore, he hurts or offends no one, intentionally. He weighs his words and actions to ensure they are inoffensive to all that would hear or see what they are saying or doing. He does only what he considers the best to everyone that comes in contact with him anytime, anywhere not minding the fact that they may be younger or less privileged than he is. He does good to ALL and evil to NONE.
- A Heaven Bound Pilgrim NEVER TAKES UP A REPROACH Against His Neighbor.
He knows that men are prone to making mistakes in life. So, he never partakes in fault – finding missions. He does not criticize anyone neither does he delight in propagating the mistakes of others. If anyone falls into sin or does anything wrong, he rather prays for the person than talk about it. He does not spread “bad news” about anyone even if the news is true.
7.A Heaven Bound Pilgrim CONTEMNS VILE Persons.
That means, he has contempt in his heart for people that are vile, people that do not fear, honor, obey or worship the LORD. Sinners are not his friends. If at all he makes friends with sinners, it is to help them reconcile with God and make Jesus their Lord and Saviour. He neither admires nor envies sinners however “blessed” they seem to be. He pities those that do not love and serve the Lord and, also feels sorry for them. Because he knows that they are lost and heading toward an eternity without God.
- A Heaven Bound Pilgrim HONOURS GOD – FEARING People.
These are the people that are one with him in spirit. Infect, they are his true brothers and sisters(though in the Lord). He loves them dearly and deeply. He is fond of them. He has great respect for every man or woman that fears God in spirit and in truth. He holds them in high esteem. They are the kind of people he likes associating with. He is happy when they are around him. He is both at ease and at peace with them. His spirit agrees with them.
9.A Heaven Bound Pilgrim DOES NOT GO BACK From His Vows.
Yes, even if he later discovers that what he vows or promises to do would hurt him, he would not change his mind; he had already counted the cost before giving his word. You can take him at his word. He keeps to agreements.
10.A Heaven Bound Pilgrim DOES NOT GIVE OUT MONEY For Usury.
This is, indeed, a great revelation! Going to heaven does not mean one should not have or make money. It is God’s perfect will that His children make and have money. A heaven bound pilgrim must not be poor, broke and needy. NO! God provides richly for him. He has so much that he can give to the poor and needy ones. He is a giver and a lender. But, he never lends money on usury. Usury is the practice of lending money to people and expecting them to pay back with a VERY HIGH INTEREST on it. It is covetousness that makes people to do that. He is not covetous
neither is he greedy of money. The love of money is absent in his heart. He controls money. Money does not control him.
11.A Heaven Bound Pilgrim DOES NOT TAKE REWARD Against The Innocent.
If he is a lawyer, a judge or a law enforcement agent, he does not take bribes to condemn the innocent. But judges justly. He hates injustice and bribery. He does not praise the wicked and blames the innocent because of favor, gift or a bribe no matter how enticing. Rather, he condemns the guilty and frees the innocent.
In conclusion, if these 11 descriptions cannot be used to describe your life and yet, you say you are bound for heaven, then, forget it because you are still very far from making heaven. Go back to your closet and get things right with God.
GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU OBEY.
