Supplies for Eternity

From the Lord’s suggestion about whom to invite for dinner [Luke 14:12] we can derive a rule: do good to our neighbors and never count on any payback.

It does not mean, however, that our efforts will be fruitless: at some time in the future they will certainly bring us abundant fruits. Remember, in the Sermon of the Mount, speaking of all kinds of good and pious works — charity, fasting, prayer — the Lord commands us to do them in secret; and why? Because the Heavenly Father, “which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” [Matthew 6:4-18]. Therefore, all labors on earth ought to be aimed at building the heavenly edifice, at the procurement, so to speak, of supplies for eternity.

This approach is not utilitarian. It has nothing to do with profit-making. Any calculated profit is limited to the earth, while a Christian life on the earthly scale is total loss. Besides, it is completely impossible without faith, without hope, and without true love of our Lord.

Heavenly gains resulting from a life on earth according to the Lord’s commandments is a noble principle worthy of a true Christian. Yet it is much more real, much more tangible than abstract concepts like “doing good for good’s sake”, which you will not find anywhere in the Holy Scriptures. The lofty motivation for a Christian life is this: Do everything for God and fear no losses.