By Todd Paetznick, March 25, 2024

What is eternal life worth? The Sunday School answer is that it is priceless. But if that were true for everyone, our churches would be packed full of people, and there would be no need for evangelism. Since every church in the world is not filled, and Christians are engaged in evangelism and sending missionaries all over the world, then what is going on? Is eternal life not priceless?  Or is it something else?

A fascinating aspect of life in the Western world is our obsession with extending and protecting life (at least extending life for those who survive through being born).  The rhetoric in politics often refers to the number of lives projected to be saved to justify spending on some initiative.  There is also a societal obsession with eating healthy to live longer, losing weight to live longer, working out more to live longer, reducing stress to live longer, taking various medications to live longer, and the list can go on.  These are not bad things but note the pattern.  As Christians, we should work to help people live longer and better lives.  

But everyone dies; it is a universal truth.  As Benjamin Franklin noted, death is one of two certainties in life, the other being taxes.  If the same end is in store for every person, then our obsession with delaying the inevitable for as long as possible makes sense.  The universal obsession with extending life also points to the question people are likely thinking but often not vocalizing: is this all there is?  Is there anything after we die?

Last week, the concept of Differentiated Value was introduced. Differentiated Value is a business concept that seeks to quantify the perceived worth of competing alternatives. Jesus taught the value of the Kingdom of God and what we should do to obtain it. The short answer is we should do everything we can to get eternal life in heaven. One of Jesus’ stories was the discovery of the pearl of great value, where Jesus advised selling everything to buy the pearl, which is representative of the Kingdom of God.  But what is the alternative to heaven, and why is it even a choice anyone would make?

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter.] “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS” (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB20).

Our choices are typically not made with the long-term in mind; they represent short-term outcomes.  There is a heaven and a hell, both of which represent long-term outcomes of other choices.  Rarely, would anyone choose hell over heaven. Many think they will earn their way to heaven by doing good things. Some people even do good things in Jesus’ name, thinking that will be sufficient. 

Hell has been described as eternal separation from God and a place of eternal torment. From a value perspective, no one would choose hell as their eternal destination, but that is not how they live their lives.  The differentiated value of heaven over hell is quantifiably significant, and yet many live their lives like hell does not exist.  Jesus presented the value of heaven and the downsides of hell.  We should listen to what He says we need to do to gain access to it.  

Our actions determine our destination.  It is not that there are good or bad things we can do, but rather, our attitude drives actions and associated outcomes.  In the verse that follows the previously quoted passage from Matthew 7, Jesus says, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (24).  The house built on a rock survives storms.  The flip side is the person who hears the words of Jesus but does not act on them.  This person is like a foolish man who builds his house on sand (26).  Sand offers no strong foundation to protect a house from storms.  As Jesus taught, the house, built on sand, collapsed in the storm (27).  

 Jesus’ metaphor of the value of strong foundations is even more meaningful in our modern world. Beachfront property is significantly more expensive than inland property. Why? Economic theory says prices go up because the supply of beach homes is less than the demand. Because of desire, people want to have a life on the waterfront. The beach house may be damaged or destroyed in the next hurricane, yet we want it and are willing to pay for it.  Similarly, people, perhaps unknowingly, place a value on heaven and hell through their short-term actions.  Let’s help them understand the differentiated long-term value of eternal life.