If heaven had an interview

We have reached the point where the question of character must be placed against the final picture of God’s kingdom. The issue is not whether human beings can make themselves worthy of heaven, but whether Christ has been allowed to restore His image in them.

The holy city and the character of its people

John gives us a sobering picture of the New Jerusalem:

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Notice both truths. The people of God belong to the Lamb, and nothing defiling belongs in the kingdom He restores. The Psalms ask the same question from the other side. “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?” asks Psalm 24, and answers: “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-4). Psalm 15 asks who may dwell in God’s tabernacle, and the answer begins with “He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2). These are descriptions of character.

But look at how Psalm 24 continues: “He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:5). The righteousness comes from “the God of his salvation.” This does not mean that human character earns a place in heaven. Salvation is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. Character is the fruit of that relationship, the evidence that grace has been doing its transforming work. Christ does not merely forgive the person who comes to Him; He begins to change that person. He teaches the proud heart humility, the bitter heart forgiveness, the selfish heart love, the dishonest heart truthfulness, and the uncontrolled life self-mastery. The question, then, is not whether we have earned heaven. The question is whether we are allowing the One who has saved us to prepare us for the life of heaven.

The interview

Let us return to the illustration we used near the beginning of this book. Imagine that you apply for a position at an extraordinary company. The company is known for its integrity. Its employees are trustworthy. They serve one another. They do not steal. They do not manipulate. They do not lie. They respect one another. They put the interests of the organisation above selfish ambition. Before employing you, the company conducts an interview. They ask questions. They check your qualifications. They investigate your experience. They may even conduct assessments to determine whether your character fits the culture of the organisation.

Why? Because a company can teach procedures. It can teach systems. It can teach skills. But character is much harder to change. Now imagine something far greater. God is preparing people for an eternal kingdom. A kingdom where love is the atmosphere. Where truth is the foundation. Where selfishness has no place. Where hatred cannot exist. Where dishonesty is impossible. Where pride has no throne. Would character matter? Absolutely. But here is the crucial difference: God is not conducting an interview to decide whether we are worthy of His grace.

Instead, through grace, He is transforming us so that we can live in harmony with Him. Christ’s righteousness is the ground of our acceptance; the character the Spirit forms is the fruit of salvation, never a qualification we achieve to earn it. He does not merely examine the candidate. He changes the candidate. And that changes everything.

A character audit

The purpose of the character audit is not to make us stare endlessly at ourselves. It is to turn our eyes towards Jesus. He is both the pattern and the source of the character we need. These questions are not intended to drive us into despair. They are invitations to bring our hearts to Christ. Where we find selfishness, we can ask for His love. Where we find bitterness, we can ask for His forgiveness. Where we find pride, we can ask for His humility. Where we find weakness, we can ask for His strength.

If my character were judged not by what I say about Christ, but by how I treat people, what would my life say about Him? Do I care more about what God sees than what people think? Does my private character agree with my public profession? Do I serve when nobody notices? Am I merciful when I have the power to punish? Am I humble enough to accept correction? Am I forgiving when I have been genuinely wronged? Am I kind when I am tired, disappointed or irritated? Am I honest when dishonesty would benefit me? Am I loving when love costs me something?

These questions are not a test by which we earn salvation. Salvation is God’s gift through Jesus Christ. They are questions of examination: evidence that can reveal what direction our lives are taking and whether we are allowing Christ’s transforming grace to bear fruit in us.

If people could describe you

Imagine sitting quietly while the people who know you best are asked to describe you. Your family. Your friends. Your neighbours. Your colleagues. The people who have worked with you. The people who have disagreed with you. And, perhaps most revealing of all, the people who have seen you under pressure. What would they say? Would they describe you as trustworthy? Kind? Patient? Honest? Humble? Forgiving? Reliable? Would they say that your private life agrees with your public profession? There is something deeply humbling about hearing others speak honestly about the person they believe you to be. Their words may encourage you, but they may also expose the distance between the person others see and the person God knows.

The New Testament gives us a man whom others described very well. Cornelius, a Roman centurion, was spoken of as “a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews” (Acts 10:22). He was “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2). By any human measure he had an admirable character. And yet God sent Peter to him with a message, because Cornelius still needed to hear the gospel: Peter would tell him “words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14). It is a striking balance. Good character was real and was noticed by God (Acts 10:4), and it was not a substitute for Christ.

That brings us to the more important question: what does God see? “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

The character test

The most searching test is therefore not, “What do people say about me?” but, “What is Christ forming in me?” Reputation is what others think they know about us. Character is what is being formed within us. A reputation can be carefully managed. Character is revealed when there is no audience, no applause and no advantage to be gained.