How would you like to have a welcoming committee waiting for you when you get to Heaven? And I don’t mean just your Christian friends and relatives.
The old saying, “You can’t take it (your possessions) with you when you die” isn’t strictly true for a Christian. It depends on how you define, “it.”
If it’s physical property, possessions, etc. then no, you can’t take those things with you. But if it is spiritual treasures, that is another story altogether.
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:19-21:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
All of us are given a limited amount of time, treasure and talent to “spend” during our brief sojourn on earth. We get to decide what to do with these precious gifts from God. Do I put them to work for heavenly purposes or do I waste them on temporal earthly pursuits?
In the verse above, Jesus urges us to put our personal gifts to work for God. He makes a direct connection between what we “treasure” and the condition of our heart.
Storing earthly treasures makes for hard hearts; Storing heavenly treasures makes for tender, sensitive hearts. By a secret law of the soul, we become like what we worship [or focus upon.
And best of all, by generously sharing our faith with others, we accumulate a heavenly “benefit package.”
An interesting passage in the Book of Revelation, Revelation 14:12-13, emphasizes this: “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”
Bible commentator Bill MacDonald writes, “Everything done for Christ and in His name for others will be richly rewarded — every kindness, sacrificial gift, prayer, tear, word of testimony.”
Those people with whom you have had a part in leading to Christ will accompany you to heaven. Try doing that with your bank account, flashy car or house on the hill.
Yet the sad reality is that most of us are too busy chasing “the dream,” that we pass right by opportunities to invest in lost and hurting people all around us.
Not so with Jesus, in Matthew 9:36-38, “Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”
Jesus was not referring to clergy, religious professionals or formally ordained church officers — there were more than enough of those. He was referring to the scarcity of “workers,” who were willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work of harvesting the spiritual crop of souls for God.
That means you and me, “warts and all,” who are out there daily in the marketplace, at home, traveling, and at play.
The Apostle Paul instructed in 2 Timothy 4:1-5:
“I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus … preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and exhort, with great patience and instruction … use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Most of us apply the above verse to the “professionals,” but the humblest believer in Christ’s Kingdom is a believer-priest, authorized to minister in God’s house, as noted in 1 Peter 2:8-10:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
How About You?
Did you know that believers in Christ have a sacred “ministry” that is every bit as vital as those who are ordained ministers?
You may be the only “Christ” someone may get to see today. Yours are the only hands He has to reach out with, the only voice He has to speak with, the only heart He has to care with.
— D.C. Collier is a Bible teacher, discipleship mentor and writer focused on Christian apologetics. A mechanical engineer and internet entrepreneur, he is the author of My Origin, My Destiny, a book focused on Christianity’s basic “value proposition.” Click here for more information, or contact him at don@peervalue.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.