When it doesn't matter

They both stood and gazed at the exquisite gates of heaven. The two women were both Christians, the first had been saved for nearly all her life and the other had only been saved only for five. They silently glanced at each other. The first woman thought about the woman who stood next to her "look at her, until a few years ago she lived a wicked life; I'm so glad I didn't live like she did." The second woman could only think of the remorse that she had for not coming to salvation in Christ sooner "Oh, that I had turned to Christ when there was more time for me to live as the woman next to me. She must have a mansion so much better than mine." Heaven's gates opened and the two walked in. They stood before Christ, one with her head held high and the other not being able to raise her head for the shame that weighed her down. The Lord turned and spoke. The first woman acknowledged his speaking to her and stood taller. Surprisingly, there was a sadness in the Father's eyes as he turned to the woman who had claimed his name for so long. The second woman who glanced up to see Jesus' face and her heart stilled. "If he appears saddened by that woman who has been a Christian for so long, what must he think of me?", she lowered her eyes and listened as Christ addressed the woman beside her. "You have been my child for so long", He said "and the hundreds of things you have done in my name will burn up." "What?" gasped the first as she looked at the Lord. "You didn't do it for me, you did it all for yourself" Christ answered with pain in his voice. He continued, "all the meals for the poor, all your modest clothing, all your witnessing to the lost, all your acts of kindness were nothing; you left me out and served for your own gain." A tear rolled down the woman's cheek as she realized that she had served to make herself look good and to bring glory to her own person. She watched as her mansion was burned and only a simple portion of the beautiful lodging remained. "It could have been more" Christ said, the woman nodded and wept as she walked toward the streets of gold.
Jesus looked at the second woman who was too ashamed to look up until he spoke. "My child, your life has been one which has caused me much pain." The woman cried as she remembered the years of her rebellion and wandering without Christ as her Savior. The Father continued, "but the last five years your life has been one which has given me much hope." "But Lord, how can this be when the other woman had been a Christian so much longer and done so much more?" she questioned. The simple words proceeded from Christ's lips "only what's done for me will last." Waving his hand toward another mansion, Jesus showed as the second woman's house was burned and came out more beautiful than it had been to begin with. The woman gasped as she realized what had happened. The Lord lovingly gazed into the woman's eyes and said "when you lived those five years for me, it mattered but when a Christian lives for themselves; it doesn't matter-it is of no gain in eternity." The woman nodded and walked down the streets of gold to her mansion. Though not as beautiful as many, it was not as simple as some. She had lived five years as a daughter of the King and she has truly lived those years for him. It mattered.

NOTE: This story was soley to illustrate the importance of living a life for Jesus and not doing right simple to bring praise to ourselves. I acknowledge that the above story is not in the Bible and merely a story. I do not intend to leave anyone with the impression that I know what God thinks or will do when we stand before him. There will be mansion's, they will burn, and we will give account for what we have done here on earth.

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