“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11) One of the most glorious thoughts that we have in this life are those of the next life, of the kingdom of heaven.
I believe that one of the reasons that so few intimate details of heaven are given in the Scriptures is not only because trying to explain the infinite to finite beings would be impossible, but so that we can use our imaginations to attempt to conceive of that wonderous home. It is beyond description, and so we are given just bits and pieces of information, from John telling us that he “Saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” (Rev. 21:2) to the Lord Jesus informing us that the kingdom of heaven is within us. (Luke 17:21) No mortal can give conscious thought to immortality and give it justice, the most beautiful architectural structure ever conceived by man will find no place in our eternal home, it would dull in comparison.
Many there are that give thought to our Father’s kingdom, but how many have chosen to devote their lives to the One who has made it, how many of His children truly understand that if they would desire to reap all of the rewards of our eternal home, they must choose to do so here. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27) There is no more growing in faith once you have seen the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot grow in the knowledge of the Lord after His laws have been written in your heart as they will for all His servants one day. (Jer. 31:33) The work to achieve the rewards of heaven are done here, accomplished by willing servants who have devoted their lives in submission to the Holy Spirit, to the will of God.
There are places in eternity that are reserved for those who do not accept Christ, and some of these are more terrible than others, if that can be imagined, places set apart for those who are evil with intent, those who will receive greater punishment. (John 19:11-12) But for some unknown reason, many Christians do not give pause to think that this is how it is in heaven, that there are greater rewards, more access in heaven, if you will, to those who have served well here, they believe that all will be available to all. Are the Scriptures not clear, the sons of thunder asked their mother to tell Jesus to let them sit by His side in the kingdom, one on the right, the other on the left, (Mark 10:35-37) yet Christ said that those places were reserved for them that the Father had chosen, (Mark 10:40) are there not only twenty-four thrones set before the throne of God, (Rev. 4:4) will not David sit in a place of honor in the kingdom.
I have used this analogy many times, and it fits well here, when you see Jesus, Moses, and Paul walking along one of the avenues in the New Jerusalem, do you feel, as the servant of Christ that you are today, that you will have the right to stroll right over there and join in the conversation, can you place yourself in that position of honor. No you cannot my friends, and neither can I, but the Lord can, the thing is, He is not going to do that here, you must be willing to have it done to you here. This life is where the work is, earth is the testing ground for the saints of God to show them where their place of position will be in heaven.
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) Do not think there will be great fanfare for you the day that you walk into His kingdom, do not think that everyone there will stop all they are doing to come a get a glimpse of you, as in my mind I see them doing on that day that Paul arrived home, the day that Stephen saw the Lord Jesus was not seated by the Father, but standing, waiting to welcome him home. (Acts 7:56) We all desire to be with Christ, it is the one great intent of the heart of every born-again believer, but how many have given their entire lives to Him, how many are seeking to gain all five of the crowns, how many are submitting in full to the Holy Spirit, seeking the fellowship of His suffering. (Phil. 3:10)
There are multitudes who believe themselves to be saved, yet are not His children, and there are nearly as many who believe that just because they are His, they have earned the right to access every part of eternity. Not all of God’s children will receive the same rewards as others, and this will lay squarely upon their shoulders, they knew what they were to do, and they choose not to do it. By our own free will we decide how much we want to serve the Lord Jesus, we do not always do what we are commanded to do, the reasons are many and varied, but they are all brought upon us of our own will, we choose how much to serve, and by these decisions here, we determine the rewards we will receive there.
Many Christians do not like to think along these lines, they prefer to contemplate eternity in the form of fulness for themselves, because they are a child of God, they should receive everything that every other child will receive, and in just the three short examples given here, we see that they are mistaken. The humble man will be called to the top floor, (Luke 14:10) the man who resists himself and submits to the will of God will be exalted, the one who truly dies to self will receive rewards above his fellows who have not. There will be plenty of excuses on that day, and our gracious Lord will take the time to hear every one of them, but then the truths will be made known to them, and they will fall on their faces begging for forgiveness, we all will.
But it will not change the facts, the doors of heaven will be opened, but for all eternity there will be as it were, limited access. You will reap what you sow, and there is no sowing in heaven. In this life is where we plant the seeds of eternity, here is where the work is, and profitable servants will be rewarded richly, unprofitable ones, not so much. There will come a day, and most assuredly that day is coming, that all who have received rewards for their efforts to glorify the name of Jesus here in this life will cast all those rewards at His feet, for He alone is worthy. (Rev. 4:10-11) But on that day there will be vast multitudes who have nothing to give, their hands will be empty. There will be shame and tears mixed in with those who are rejoicing. The decision on where you will be standing on that day has been left entirely up to you.
