Sure Enough

May 17, 2026

I was 3½ years old, standing before an open casket looking at my grandfather, the man I called Papa, wondering why he wouldn’t wake up. My aunt finally pulled me away and said, “He’s not waking up.” God planted a seed in my heart that day. I came to realize that the single most important thing any person can know, in light of the fact that we are all going to die, is to know for certain that when you do, you will be with God in Heaven forever. But wanting to know and actually knowing are two very different things. Mark Twain famously said, “It ain’t what you know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” I know of nothing more dangerous than being sure you’re going to Heaven when you’re not and nothing more miserable than being on your way to Heaven but not knowing how or why. That is exactly who the apostle John is writing to. In five chapters he uses the word “know” 39 times, because Jesus didn’t die on the cross to give us a “hope-so” or “feel-so” salvation. He died to give us a “know-so” salvation. John gives us facts, not feelings, and leads us to three truths that will help you know for certain where you stand.