When  teaching your children about salvation  remind them about the heavenly reward that awaits them upon belief.   Heaven should  be exemplified as a place of forgiveness, peace and safety.   Heaven will begin  with a face to face encounter  with God,  himself.    For the first time you will fully know the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) just as you have been fully known by them during your years on earth.  The next order of events is an assumption on my part;  I believe that you will subsequently  be joyously reunited with all of your saved loved ones and friends.   It will be a wonderful time, unparallel to any gathering you have ever experienced.  Now, back to the Bible.   Eventually there will be a time set aside by Christ to finally say goodbye to the memory of sin forever.   This  is done at the judgment seat of Christ.   There is nothing to fear at the judgment seat and  nothing to be concerned about.     This is the setting Jesus selected for the purpose  of permanently burning sin from our memory.    It is a cleansing time that leaves you only with the earthly works  accomplished in faith.      In response,  teach your children that heaven is a wonderful place,  a place of hope and joy, not a place of fear or  punishment.    Resist  instructing your children that God will punish them in heaven for sins committed on earth;  that just simply does not bear out in Scripture.

Teachable Moment

Gather some matches and take your children to a safe place for this analogy;  you do not want to start a forest fire for the sake of this biblical illustration.   Spend some time explaining to your children about the danger of using matches.     Then at a safe distance, strike a match and let it burn itself out.     Have them observe how quickly the match burns itself out.   Permit them to feel at a distance  the heat from the match.     Be careful!        When the match has burned itself out, ask them to describe the appearance of the burned match.   If their observations are good, they will note that there is little left  of the match, ashes at best.   When the charred remains have cooled off, crumble what’s left between your fingers.   Then ask them what they now see.  Nothing!    This is the point of the illustration.    The ashened  match  is  a picture of  what Christ  intends to do with your faithless works.    In your presence, He lights a fire and puts to ashes these experiences, your memory of sin is cleansed forever.      Remember,  Heaven is intended to be a place filled  only with faith, the judgment seat of Christ  finalizes God’s plan in this regard.

Word of God

1 Cor. 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.

2 Tim. 4:18 The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him {be} the glory forever and ever. Amen.

2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

1 Cor. 3:13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is {to be} revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.