From Prison to Paradise

Luke 23:43 Today you will be with me in Paradise.

One moment, he was a condemned prisoner, awaiting his punishment, which was death by crucifixion. Next moment, he found himself bound for Paradise. This twist of fate came about, not because he met Christ at the cross, but because of his confession of Christ.

Many of us have, no doubt, met Christ at various points in our lives, but how many went on to confess Him to be their Lord and Saviour? It makes a whole difference between life spent in eternal bliss and eternal flame.

Each day, as I flip through the papers, I can't help noticing more and more advertisements enticing people to sign up for courses to learn how to make tons of money in a short time, or to score better grades than others. For those who already have money and good grades, there's still looks and physique to whip into shape. Then for those who are still not contented, there are courses to mould them into successful leaders or anything that ends with "-preneurs".

Question is: after making the money, getting the looks, making the grades, and becoming a successful leader, where is one headed? There's nothing in the manual that says a person who dies with $x million in his bank account goes to heaven while he who has no mentionable asset to his name goes to hell. There's nothing that says those with a full head of hair, beautiful eyes or washboard abs will get to live in bungalows in heaven, while the ugly ducklings are assigned 2-room units in HDB flats in heaven. So, tell me, why are we so hung up on such things, so as to miss the big picture?

Thomas