Could I be so bold as to ask you a very personal question? What is it that you are banking on? What is it that you have placed your hopes in for your future? By future, I am referring to your immediate future, your extended future, and ultimately, and most importantly, your eternal future.

First, let’s think for a moment about your immediate future. Maybe you are one of those who is banking on your educational accomplishments to open doors for you to embark on your dream career. Perhaps you have gone through the grind of all those classes which were required for you to achieve your degree of choice. And now, having completed the educational journey, you are ready to set sail on an exciting career that you are banking on to provide a lucrative means of income as well as a life-long adventure in your field of choice.

Or, perhaps you are banking on a successful stint as a major league sports star. Perhaps you have excelled in your particular sport through high school and college, and you are now awaiting that call from that sports franchise which will secure your future.

Another possibility is that you are banking on financial investments to secure your future. Perhaps you are a careful observer of the movements of the stock market, or you have invested in other forms of what appear to be promising financial opportunities that could secure your future for years, perhaps even decades, into the future.

Or,  maybe you are banking on a relationship with your significant other to make your future bright and exhilarating. Your love for that individual will be all you need to guarantee a future that is filled with nothing but love, laughter, and lots of fun.

These four examples provide us with a brief glimpse at what we might have placed our hopes on for the future, and we are banking everything on what they will provide.

Now, let’s think for a moment about the extended future. And again, we can focus on the four examples we have mentioned above. Educational accomplishments, athletic abilities, relational engagements, financial investments are entered into with the hope that they will last a lifetime. All we can envision is the brightest of futures as we embark on the many different paths of life. And as we embark on our path of choice, we bank on it being a most fulfilling, rewarding, life-long journey.

Oftentimes the things we are banking on produce amazing rewards. That promising, even though highly risky, financial investment could provide much more than expected. Those long, difficult years of grueling educational exploits might provide that exciting career that brings you years of fulfillment. That relationship could provide years and years of happiness, even though it is riddled with challenges you never dreamed of encountering.

However, those things we are banking on sometimes leave us empty, broken, filled with remorse and regret. Careers lose their original luster. Educational achievements never produce the expected results. Athletic careers are ended instantly with a career ending injury. Those financial investments crash and burn, leaving us not only broken, but actually broke.

Someone said that we must never fall prey to the tendency of putting all of our eggs into one basket. If our hopes of a bright, exciting, amazingly productive future is focused on one thing, then if that one thing fails we feel as if life is over, no longer worth living. However, if we have a combination of several foci, then if one should happen to fail, we are not left with nothing, but we still have other investments which can now fill in the gap left by the one that has failed.

Now, having said all that about the immediate future and the extended future, let’s think for a moment about the eternal future. Making plans for the eternal future, and then banking on that plan, is much more important than the investments of education, athletics, finances, and relationships. We can make those plans, and even if they fail to provide us with the expected returns and rewards, we can still learn from the mistakes made and move on.

But, if we make the wrong plan for our eternal future, then there is no second chance. So please, allow me just a few more minutes of your time to talk about the most important decision you will ever make.

The general consensus of the present day is that there are many roads that lead into heaven. We might hear some say that it doesn’t really matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere in your belief. You may be banking on one of the many paths which are prevalent today. You may be banking on the fact that you are a very good person, one who is loving, caring and benevolent. You are banking on your belief that as long as your good outweighs your bad then it will gain you entrance into heaven.

Or, maybe you are banking on your fervent religious activity to get you into heaven. You are totally committed to your church, or synagogue, or mosque, or temple. You are actively involved in the ministry activities. You believe firmly in the teachings of your faith.

Or, perhaps you are one of those who simply refuses to believe that there is anything beyond this life. You live, you die, and that’s the end.

Just what are you banking on? Well, this decision is like no other decision you will ever make. You can go back and earn a different degree and pursue a different career path. You can make different financial investments and secure a financial future that will provide a level of comfort and fulfillment. You can pick up the pieces of a ruined athletic career by going in a new direction. You can even move on after a broken relationship.

But, if you miss out on the eternal decision that will result in your entrance into heaven, all hope is lost – forever.

I will this blog by stating categorically that there is one, and only one, road that leads to heaven; the only thing that you can bank on with absolute certainly. Jesus stated emphatically, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” You cannot go to heaven by religious activity, by being a perfect citizen, by making sure the good outweighs the bad, or any other means. Jesus is the only way.

And the great thing about it is, when you put all of your eggs in the Jesus basket, you are safe and eternally secure. You can bank on it!

So, life-altering decisions can be draining, depressing and discouraging. But, you can pick up the pieces and keep going. But the eternal decision has to be right. It is the only thing that is absolutely trustworthy. Make sure you are banking on Jesus, and He will never let you down.