Children are a visual God surrounds us with everyday — they are small, weak, and defenseless, but unlike adults, they realize this. Madonna and Toddler, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed open edition print at Framed Canvas Art.

How to get to heaven is a piece of information that we all want to know. The rich young ruler of Matthew 19:16 – 29 (Mark 10: 17 – 30, Luke 18: 18 – 30) asked Jesus,

“What good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

Nicodemus, a religious leader, visited Jesus secretly at night and circumspectly touched upon the topic, something that should comfort the rest of us ordinary, non-leadership type people, because as Jesus observed,

“You are Israel’s teacher . . . and  do you not understand these things?” (John 3: 10)

(Remember this the next time an assertive, confident bastion of the Christian faith tells you how to live your life and where to send your money.)

Why didn’t Jesus just flat out tell us what to do? we quite sensibly ask.

Well, He did flat out tell us a number of things, many of which we avoid doing (“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” — Luke 6: 46), and one of the many issues Christ addressed was the kingdom of heaven, and what it takes to get there:

Please follow the link to my Commonsense Christianity article at BeliefNet, The Kingdom of Heaven — How Do We Get There? I am grateful to all of you who click through and finish the rest of the story, as I am unable to reprint the entire article here. I also appreciate those of you who comment — thank you!

All of the fine art images in my articles are by my husband, Steve Henderson, who sells originals and licensed prints through his website, Steve Henderson Fine Art. You don’t have to be rich to own art, and indeed, it’s ordinary people living ordinary lives who need art the most!

This article is linked to Paradise Praises, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, My Disorganized Life,  A little r and r, We Are That Family, Wholehearted Home, Homemakers, My daily walk in his grace, A Wise Woman, Hope in Every Season, Marriage and Missions, Graced Simplicity, Serving Joyfully, Jenni Mullinix, Shine Blog, Mom on Demand, Missional Woman, Simple Moments Stick, Womanhood with Purpose, Essential Things, That Friday Blog Hop, A Look at the Book, Jenny Evolution, Family Fun Friday, Larson Wife, Weekend Winddown