Hearses Aren't Equipped with Trailer Hitches

♪♪”O you can’t get to Heaven in a motorcar, ‘cause a motorcar won’t go that far”♪♪

 I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I love my life. I do, I love the experiences, the sensations, the ups and the downs, the excitement, and the unpredictability. I love how things just work, and even when they don’t I get to figure them out. I love getting to wake up every morning and face another day that I’ve never lived before. I love to think about what could be next, and plan for the future, looking on toward new and brighter days.

 I love the opportunity to get to live on this planet with its many sights and sounds, things to do, people to meet, adventures to be had. I love the comfort and convenience of our modern age, having the whole world within my grasp.  I love the thrill of taking a new risk, or the love found in the presence of my friends, or the satisfaction of overcoming previously insurmountable obstacles. I love to learn, to grow, to adapt, to become better, to achieve, to fail and then get back up; To know what it is to laugh, and to love, to lose, and to restore, to win, and to open my eyes every morning and do it all again.

 I’m so very grateful to God to have the opportunity to enjoy all the things that He has created for us here on earth, and to give us the minds that can conceive and build even more things. Though I have noticed at many times this appreciation not really being appreciation at all and instead morphing instantaneously into a love for the world. It is very easy for me to shift my focus off of the Creator, who has supplied such wonderful gifts, and just focus on the creation and all that this life has to offer. Even often being less spiritual and enjoying the things of man… I do that a lot too.  I love comfort, and I love pleasure; I’m not so much a fan of the opposite. Can you relate to me at all here?

 There is the old adage that says “You can’t take it with you when you go”; meaning that the things that we have in this life cannot be transferred or taken with us in the next. The possessions, fascinations, hobbies, and interests that we have in this life do not come with us when we die. They aren’t waiting on the other side of the pearly gates, they remain here. The things of this earth will all pass, or die, or fade (1 Peter 1:24-25). This world is temporal, and all the things in it will one day be gone. There will come a day when I too will perish, and I won’t be able to do all those things I mentioned above anymore, I will just get to hang out in the dirt.

  What value do our earthly possessions have then? Well, I’m glad you asked (voluntarily, or course); they don’t have value, not eternal value at least. Sure the things that we have here may provide a sense of comfort, or security, or pleasure while we’re here, but it would be somewhat foolish to hang on to them for that reason. It would be like a offering a child a $100 or a piece of candy. Depending on how old this hypothetical child is, they would likely choose the piece of candy because it offers them a momentary sugar rush, and they have no concept of the value of money. (If you try this and they choose the money, stop it, you’re ruining my illustration)

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." - Colossians 3:2

 It is much the same with us when we think of the things that have value here versus eternity. We have little to no concept of what awaits us in Heaven, so we choose the things that make us happy here, in the world that we understand. Heaven is going to be wonderful! Spending unrestrained eternity in the presence of the One who created us, Who loves us, Who died so that we could be with Him forever… can you imagine how excited Jesus is for that day? Think about how excited you get to spend a weekend with your best friend, doing the things you both love, and multiply that by infinity!

 Eternity is going to be amazing, and it’s going to last forever. Our time here is short, and it would be utterly ridiculous to live this short while without preparing for what comes next. Everything that is worthwhile in our life we spend time planning, or investing in, or participating in. Prior to marriage we take an exorbitant amount of time with the one we are considering spending our lives with; before retirement we first make sure that we are building up savings that we can sustain ourselves with. We need to also prepare for the most important life we will have after our life here is over.

The missionary pilot Jim Elliot made this statement very shortly before he was killed on the mission field,  “He is no fool to give that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.” It will never be a waste to give the things of this earth, to obtain the things of Heaven. It will all be worth it in the end. In contrast, we will be forever disappointed if we look back on our life and only have wood, hay and stubble to show for it (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

 Hearses don’t have trailer hitches. You can’t take this world with you when you go, so invest in the Kingdom. God always returns on His investments.

~Luke Schwartz