12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
Here's the progression: Jesus shed His blood so that we might be forgiven, so our sins would be taken away and that we would be made right with God through His sacrifice. So, Jesus teaches us that if we have experienced the new birth in Him through belief and confession, then we will go to heaven. We now seek the eternal city, the one to come. Jesus said to His disciples that they knew the way to that place, and taught that He was that way. We can have assurance of our place in the afterlife, once we leave this world, because of the reliability of Jesus and His promises.
In a pluralistic society, where multiple religions, most with founders who are no longer alive, are competing in the marketplace of ideas, Jesus made a claim, and backed it up by rising from the dead. We can read in John chapter 14:
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
Millions have watched the Erwin Brothers' film, I Can Only Imagine, that depicts the backstory of that classic song from MercyMe and traces part of the life story of the band's lead singer Bart Millard.
Bart had a turbulent relationship with his father, but after his father was diagnosed with cancer, they reconciled, and his father came to know Christ. The film relates Bart's on-stage performance of the song, which in essence, he was singing to his earthly father, who had passed away and was - and is - in heaven.
The role of Bart's father was played in an amazing, emotional way by veteran actor Dennis Quaid, who had recorded a song called, On My Way to Heaven, which was included on the soundtrack for the film, according to The Christian Post. An article announcing Quaid's intent to release a gospel album in the future stated that the song was written for his mother.
The article related:
“I’ve always been spiritual. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, became disillusioned with it as a teenager. I turned to Eastern religions and philosophies,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times.
“I read the Bible twice, read the Koran, went to India nine times. Along the way, I came back to Christianity, and well, finding that it’s really the same all throughout the world,” he added.
The Post piece goes on to say:
The Hollywood actor grew up attending a Baptist church in Texas and recently said in a promotional video that he was baptized at age 9. As he grew older, he began to ask, “Who [is] God?” But the actor maintained that Jesus is the One for him.
In a past interview with The Christian Post, this reporter asked Quaid for his thoughts on what Heaven will be like. Quaid’s song, “On My Way to Heaven,” written for his mother, revealed that he has thought about the afterlife.
“What do I imagine Heaven will be like? I think we all get a little taste of it here on Earth through prayer and meditation. That’s actually the good news that’s given — you feel it here on Earth. To imagine it? I don’t know — that takes other eyes,” he said at the time.
A 2018 CBN article said that Quaid had never heard I Can Only Imagine before he accepted the role as Arthur Millard, Bart's father. Dennis' reaction: "It hit me so profoundly, in the heart, in a place where I just don't even have words..." The article goes on to say:
His own song, "On My Way to Heaven," was written as a tribute to his mother for her 91st birthday. In a video, Quaid says he promised his mom that one day he would write a gospel song.
Quaid said, "I wrote it for my mom because my mom has always been there, her faith is unquestionable, so solid. So I wrote it for her, but I guess it's my story."
The article notes some of the lyrics:
"My life may not be roses, but still I'm gonna be alright
As long as I've got my Savior by my side.
He freed me from the heavy chains that had bound my broken heart
He picked me up, gave me a brand new start.
Now I'm on my way to Heaven, on my way to heaven.
I'm on my way to Heaven, so I can't be staying long."
Dennis Quaid certainly seems to be comfortable talking about his own Christian faith, and has made at least two appearances at NRB Conventions, including last year's Dallas event, where he was promoting his role at the late President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming film. He also has a role in the new Erwin Brothers/Kingdom Story Company film, American Underdog, the amazing story of Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner, premiering in theaters on Christmas Day - Quaid plays another real-life character, former St. Louis Rams head coach Dick Vermeil.
I think a pertinent question today for each of us is: are we on our way to heaven? There is survey data that unfortunately shows that there is significant portion of the population that believes there are multiple ways to heaven; that includes professing Christians. But, Jesus said there was one way - He is the way, the truth, and the life. He said that He is the resurrection and the life. So, as it's been pointed out, to deny this truth is to contradict the teachings of Jesus Himself; it may be more inclusive to say there are multiple ways to a relationship with God, but that's not what He taught.
When we consider the afterlife, we can have confidence that we will go to heaven when we leave this world. We can know because Jesus taught us - if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, confessing, as Romans 10 instructs us, with our mouth that He is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. We can know that we are born again, that we have a new life, and because of that, we have an eternal home with Jesus. He has so much in store for us, and we can certainly rejoice that God has made it possible for us to come to know Him and to be with Him forever.
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