It's always hard to lose someone you love. It's especially hard when it's a child. Amy was only two years old. She went to sleep with a little cold and a little fever, but by the end of the night, Amy was gone from a cause that is still a medical mystery. Her parents were in deep grief, but they also felt a little comfort from something beautiful that happened right before Amy went to sleep that night. Her mother began singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her, and little Amy sang along with her. Her last words were, "Jesus loves me, this I know." Then she was with Him.
We all have our appointment to keep with God, and what happens there has everything to do with our response to that love - a love that little children sometimes seem to understand best.
Maybe that's why it says in Matthew 18:2, "Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"
When you put that in the context of a little two-year-old's simple trust in the love of Jesus, you see some of what Jesus is trying to say here. We've got all our sophistication, our questions, our doubts, our analysis, our hardness, and our pride. We don't want to believe that we can't earn heaven with our goodness, that all we can do is put all our trust in the Savior who died to remove the death penalty for our sin. No, no. We're strong, we're self-reliant, we're smart, and we struggle with simply reaching out to Jesus in uncomplicated, unreserved faith. The truth is, there is no other way to, in Jesus' words, "enter the kingdom of heaven."
When our heart beats for the last time, it won't matter what degrees or positions we held, how many people we knew, what religion we were, or what nice things they said about us at our funeral. All that will matter is whether or not you have grabbed the nail-scarred hand of Jesus Christ to forgive your sin and take you to His heaven.
Grabbing a hand in total trust is something a child totally understands and something we grown-up children need to understand again. If you haven't trusted Jesus to be your personal Savior from your personal sin, you don't stand a chance in eternity. He's the only One who can forgive and erase what will keep you out of heaven - your sin and its death penalty. He died that death penalty on the cross so you don't have to.
You need to face eternity knowing that Jesus loves you and that you have responded to His love. You don't want to enter eternity and face Jesus knowing that you neglected or rejected His love for you that he poured out on His cross.
If you've never grabbed Jesus' hand to be your Savior, please don't risk another day outside His love. If you want to belong to Him, you can visit www.yoursforlife.net or call 1-888-966-7325 (toll-free).
The way little Amy went into eternity is a wonderful way for any of us to go into eternity - knowing Jesus loves us and that we will be with Him forever.