Preparing For Eternity

Jesus spoke a parable to the crowds, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, because I have no room to store my fruits?’ And he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll pull down my barns and build greater ones; and there I will store all my fruits and goods. And I’ll say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have much good stored up for many years! Take your ease – eat, drink, and be merry!’  But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your souls shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided? So is the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21).

People spend years preparing for retirement while failing to prepare for eternity. Years of labor, years of planning, but always putting off getting right with God as if it’s a dreaded event full of doom and gloom.

How differently Heaven sees it, for Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions, I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).  At the cost of His own blood, Jesus paid our debt of sins against God at the Cross, so we could enter Heaven. And when even one sinner repents and places their faith in Christ, Heaven erupts in joy. How differently God sees things than man.

When Christ returns to gather His own, and judges the world for its evil, the cry of those loving the world is… “Alas! For in one hour such great riches has come to nothing!” (Rev. 18:17). Blessed are they who store up for themselves treasure in Heaven.  

(Devotional by Lisa Cataford)