Hey all.
I read a rather strange post the other day that has been on my mind ever since. The topic of the discussion was fairness in Heaven, and how every believer has the ability "build up" their rewards by doing good deeds etc.
One of the posters, who was rather confident in her response, said that some Christians will not have the same privilege and joy as others in Heaven. She emphasised the idea of degrees of joy/happiness and said that your good deeds, no matter how big or small, will be measured and the degree of joy you receive in Heaven will reflect the amount of work you've put in to help others in this life. Then she went on to describe how some will have the privilege to get up close and personal with Jesus thanks to their great deeds, whilst those who put little effort, will only be watching from afar.
To be honest, this idea of privileges and degrees of joy is rather discouraging because if our effort affects how happy we'll be all throughout eternity, and whether or not we get the opportunity to speak with God/Jesus, then I would be really upset. If some are only tasting a few drops of happiness, whilst others are bathing in it, then what is the purpose of Heaven? Not everyone is born with the ability to accomplish what the prophets have accomplished, or what some of our modern preachers can do thanks to their followers, money, or whatever else helps them preach. Life is unfair because we all come from different parts of the world.
I am fully aware that we all have the ability to build up rewards in Heaven by performing different deeds, so that is not the question.
Is this woman correct? She threw in a few verses but I have a feeling they were taken out of context.
Either way, hoping to read what you guys think.
Scripture speaks of "rewards" and "crowns", but it seems many have deeply misunderstood the meaning of these terms, as an attempt to view the afterlife as consisting of some sort of meritocratic hierarchy; and that, therefore, there's all this heavenly swag that we should be working toward.
Let's talk about reward. Christ talks about storing up treasure in heaven, rather than on earth. Does He literally mean that, based on our conduct here we are accumulating swag for the afterlife? Or is Jesus, like He often does, trying to get us to radically change our perspective on things? I'd argue it's the latter.
Let's take a look at Matthew ch. 6,
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Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
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Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Notice what Jesus says there, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." The treasure, the reward, isn't "stuff", it's not some celestial version of mammon; but rather it is about the condition and orientation of our heart--what we should value. And so what should we value as God's people? What does God value? Well God values people, the least of these. God values humility, not arrogance. In Micah 6:8 we read, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" David writes, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:17)
The Lord Jesus says, "Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’" (Matthew 9:13)
So this treasure, is it "stuff"? Or is it about learning what it is that has real value, heavenly value? That it is the things God values: love, kindness, mercy, longsuffering, humility, justice. To give freely and ask nothing in return, to turn the other cheek rather than retaliate, to love our neighbor, to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, to care for the widow and the orphan. Etc. The treasure we look forward to isn't stuff, but rather the treasure of a life shaped and transformed by grace, in which we learn to love what God loves, to treasure what God treasures, to value what is truly valuable--other people, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, and all these good things. This is what lasts, this is what has eternal meaning.
It's not about getting to the pearly gates and everyone getting doled out special treats, or getting different sized mansions. The Age to Come is not some weird segregated gated community where some people get more stuff and others less stuff. Rather it's about learning that what really matters in this life is that which will matter forever. If our desire is a big fancy heavenly house, then we've missed the point, and our heart is in the wrong place, and we do not treasure what is good.
Scripture also speaks of crowns. notably those who suffer shall be given the crown of life. I suspect many of us probably think of these "crowns" as the stereotypical European gold headdress with various gemstones and the like. In Revelation 2:10 the word is στέφανον (stephanon), a wreath or garland, these "crowns" or wreathes were a common thing in the ancient Greco-Roman world, the victor's prize. When one had run the race, finished the race, they were crowned with a wreath signaling they had finished. That is what is meant here, those who have suffered and and die for Christ, they have finished their race, they have reached the end, and they receive their victor's crown, which is true life with Christ.
Perhaps most noteworthy is that we do have mention of those with "crowns of gold", namely the twenty-four elders who are before God's throne; but perhaps most noteworthy is that these cast their crowns down before God's throne. Now the question is perhaps to be asked who or what these twenty-four elders are, and the general understanding historically has been that these are the Twelve Patriarchs and Twelve Apostles. So that the, arguably, most noteworthy people in history do not even cling to their victors crowns, but before the Throne of God cast them off, crying out,
"Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created." (Revelation 4:11)
The only good even the most glorious crown is worth is to be thrown down, cast off, because before God, to be before Him, all that truly matters is Him. He is Lord, King, most worthy.
Again, we aren't talking about "rewards" as "stuff", we are talking about something more important than that. Of the victory we have in Christ, and our hope to ultimately be with Him.
-CryptoLutheran
