The economics of the eternal kingdom
When the envelope arrived from Rose Martin Eternal Life Skills, I was genuinely excited. Life skills are very important, whether they're knowing how to conduct a job search, or how to iron a shirt, or how to say no to drugs. So who wouldn't be interested in gaining some life skills that would last forever? Greedy for knowledge, I tore the envelope open and grabbed the letter inside, which said:
Sounds good so far!
Hey, wait a minute....
Yep, it's more direct mail from God. Still, all that talk of "treasures, crowns and rewards" sounds pretty lucrative, doesn't it? The phrase is even repeated four paragraphs later. It sounds pretty simple, too: Invite christ to come your heart and life as your personal Saviour, then rake in the profits. Pure capitalism, and as American as Jesus himself.
On the other hand, maybe this appeal to the spirit through the pocketbook is logically flawed. After all, it sounds like everyone in heaven has riches beyond their wildest dreams. Shouldn't everyone's good works as a servant of Christ, assuming the usual per annum prime rate and an accrual period of eternity, result in an infinite yield? But if so, isn't everyone equally rich? Or, to put it another way, isn't everyone equally poor? If everyone has infinite wealth, isn't everyone eternally stuck in the middle class? Isn't that -- dare I say -- a little Communist?
Surprisingly, no:
So in other words, the sooner you accept Jesus, the sooner you can start building eternal equity. After all, if you come to Christ immediately, you can do more good works and thus build up more of an eternal reward than some Johnny-come-lately who merely makes a deathbed conversion. While that poor bastard gets nothing, you'll be rolling in treasures, crowns, and rewards. Get in on the ground floor on this important investment.
But wait a minute -- isn't greed -- aka avarice, aka covetousness -- one of the seven deadly sins? Isn't it contradictory to try to sway people to a heavenly path through a naked appeal to vice?
Moreover, if our places are secured for all eternity, and our rewards and positions on God's eternal kingdom are determined by how we live our lives on earth, doesn't that mean there's no room for advancement in the afterlife? It sure sounds that way. But aren't these eternal life skills? Shouldn't these skills be useful throughout one's eternal life? Through a combination of hard work and pluckiness, one should be able to climb the ladder and get promoted to archangel one day. It would be pretty depressing to be stuck in the same lowly station forever, even if it was in heaven.
But maybe I'm jumping ahead. This free CD I've got here is over a half-hour long, so the answers are probably on there. And if not, they're probably on the Eternal Life Skills website or available by listening to Rose Martin's weekly show, which is available online.
Act now! Treasures, crowns, and rewards are available for a limited time only!
Hello and welcome to our family of listeners!
Enclosed is the Free CD you, or someone who cares about you, requested. There are important messages on it about why you should be getting ready for your life in eternity and I am glad that I could send it to you!
Sounds good so far!
When I began this ministry, the Lord woke me up many times at night and put a burden on my heart to warn others of how important their time on earth was. He showed me how people were laughing and playing, unaware that they were heading towards the most serious event of their lives--unprepared.
Hey, wait a minute....
When we accept God's gift of eternal life by believing in His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior, a shift occurs on the spiritual realm. Our names are written in heaven and our places there are secured for all eternity. Then the next major event happens. We begin to store up treasures, crowns, and rewards for ourselves through our thought, words, and deeds.
Yep, it's more direct mail from God. Still, all that talk of "treasures, crowns and rewards" sounds pretty lucrative, doesn't it? The phrase is even repeated four paragraphs later. It sounds pretty simple, too: Invite christ to come your heart and life as your personal Saviour, then rake in the profits. Pure capitalism, and as American as Jesus himself.
On the other hand, maybe this appeal to the spirit through the pocketbook is logically flawed. After all, it sounds like everyone in heaven has riches beyond their wildest dreams. Shouldn't everyone's good works as a servant of Christ, assuming the usual per annum prime rate and an accrual period of eternity, result in an infinite yield? But if so, isn't everyone equally rich? Or, to put it another way, isn't everyone equally poor? If everyone has infinite wealth, isn't everyone eternally stuck in the middle class? Isn't that -- dare I say -- a little Communist?
Surprisingly, no:
God stressed to me that when our time on earth is over a very serious thing will happen. Each Christian will stand before the Lord and everything he or she has done while they were Christians on this earth will be judged. There will be no laughing and playing as their thoughts, words, and deeds are put through the fire to determine their eternal rewards.
Most people are unprepared for this! They do not realize that the way they live their lives during the remaining time they have on this earth will determine the amount of rewards they will receive and the positions they will hold in God's eternal kingdom! Most will receive surprisingly little when they arrive in heaven because of how they lived their lives after they accepted the Lord as their Savior.
So in other words, the sooner you accept Jesus, the sooner you can start building eternal equity. After all, if you come to Christ immediately, you can do more good works and thus build up more of an eternal reward than some Johnny-come-lately who merely makes a deathbed conversion. While that poor bastard gets nothing, you'll be rolling in treasures, crowns, and rewards. Get in on the ground floor on this important investment.
But wait a minute -- isn't greed -- aka avarice, aka covetousness -- one of the seven deadly sins? Isn't it contradictory to try to sway people to a heavenly path through a naked appeal to vice?
Moreover, if our places are secured for all eternity, and our rewards and positions on God's eternal kingdom are determined by how we live our lives on earth, doesn't that mean there's no room for advancement in the afterlife? It sure sounds that way. But aren't these eternal life skills? Shouldn't these skills be useful throughout one's eternal life? Through a combination of hard work and pluckiness, one should be able to climb the ladder and get promoted to archangel one day. It would be pretty depressing to be stuck in the same lowly station forever, even if it was in heaven.
But maybe I'm jumping ahead. This free CD I've got here is over a half-hour long, so the answers are probably on there. And if not, they're probably on the Eternal Life Skills website or available by listening to Rose Martin's weekly show, which is available online.
Act now! Treasures, crowns, and rewards are available for a limited time only!
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