Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.   Acts 3:19

A wise man once said that if you expect to go to heaven then you should take the trouble to learn what route will get you there. That’s a good point. The trouble is Canadian Tire don’t seem to have any maps and the people who go to heaven never come back to tell us how they got there. No wonder Lon Woodrum said, “the map of that high world is oddly traced and dim.”

So how do you get to heaven? How do you find the way from this world to the place beyond this world? How do you get from this life to the afterlife without making a wrong turn? How do you travel from the seen world to the unseen world? And how do you make a trip when there seem to be no road signs to show the way?

The Bible provides directions. It tells us that “small is the gate, and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” Matthew 7:14. In other words, there is only one route to heaven – it’s the narrow road and you can’t get to heaven without getting on it.

But this raises a dilemma. Where is this narrow road? How does one find it? And how does one get onto it? For I’ve checked the map of Orillia where I live, even asked a few people, and everyone agrees there’s no street called the narrow road.

Fortunately the Bible tells us the way. It maps the narrow road for us. And it teaches us how to get on the narrow road and stay on it. It’s this simple:

1. Realize you are separated from God by your sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.
2. Recognize there is a Saviour with a solution. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6.
3. Respond to Jesus by a simple surrender of self. Three actions are needed. Firstly, repent of your sin. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3:19. Secondly, receive Jesus by faith. “… confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, (and) you will be saved” Romans 10:9. Thirdly, rejoice in your salvation. “Rejoice in the Lord always” Philippians 4:4.
4. Reach out to others by sharing the love of the Saviour. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” Mark 16:15. For “if we love each other, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” 1 John 4:12.

And there you have it. The narrow road to heaven, and the only road to heaven, is the road less travelled, the road of commitment and consecration to Jesus Christ, the road of salvation and sanctification in Jesus Christ, the road that starts with a surrendered heart, the road that continues with a steadfast faith, and the road that culminates in eternal life. Any other road is the broad road that leads to destruction (cf.  Matthew 7:13) and many enter through it. But now you know the difference. You know how to get to heaven. So if you’re not on the road to heaven then stop, make a U-turn, and keep going till you get there.