Luke 16 v 10. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
We do not know exactly what Heaven will be like, but it may not necessarily be all that different from what life is like now. What we have now must approximate to what is to come, otherwise it would make no sense to us. In thinking about this we need to remember that while it is true that all believers will be equally welcomed into Heaven, and all will be equally loved, it does not follow that all will have equal privileges. To put it into the words of our passage, some will have made “many friends”, while some will have made “few friends”. In other words the way we used our lives and the gifts and means God has given us to influence people for eternity and to forward the work of the Kingdom of God, has consequences in the life to come.
Read 2 Corinthians 5 v 10.
For we must all appear at the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Somehow in heaven there is a great and true accounting. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that it will become known how many “friends” you have, how you used your influence, no matter how small or weak, to do what you could for the Gospel and as a result there will be those either influenced or helped by you who share the eternal reward, humanly speaking, because of your faithfulness. That will be joy for you.
Secondly, it is important for us to realise that gracious and forgiving though our Lord may be, if there is no response on our side, if there is no realisation of the importance of the world to come and no effort made on our part to get involved in spreading the good news, it must have some effect in eternity.
As we think about these things we need to reflect on our lives. Do we still have zeal to make Christ known? Are we still keen to be involved, even at great inconvenience to us? Do we gladly give what we can to help the spread of the Gospel?
Even if our gifts and talents were small, did we use them faithfully? And above all was our attitude to worldly wealth of such a nature that God can safely trust us with bigger things?
I think eternity will be a great surprise for us all. Do not waste your life! It is the only one you have and it is the life for which you must one day give an account.