One thing you can for sure not bring into heaven is an excuse for not listening to God. Also, no unclean thing can enter heaven, so all your bad habits will have to be shed from you before you can experience joy eternally. What a thought!
In today's world, we are told that a good life is built on having a lot of stuff, but the Savior says that it is easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than into heaven. Amazing paradigm shift that is!
I love this story the Lord tells us in Luke 14:16-24:
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
So, from this you can see that those who put off the Lord will be put off by the Lord. It won't matter what excuse you have when you are brought before God to be judged. There is not justification for sins but there is mercy unto the sinner.
The Lord calls everyone to repent. If they do not repent or give excuse then they won't be able to have that delicious supper with the Lord. In the end, will it really matter what you choose instead of God?
“If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.” -Neal A. Maxwell
Theres also a quote from Woody Allen- "80% of success is just showing up." Which is true in the world but in the church I think the percent would go up a bit to 100%. Showing up. Being there. Doing what the Lord commands is the surest way of successfully avoiding the pitfalls and problems and sins of the world.
