Money And Status In Heaven

Q.   When Christians are raptured and go through the Bema Seat judgement, we’re rewarded for what we did while we are on Earth for God. Is it possible to grow, to gain more treasure and earn a more prestigious position (governing 5 cities instead of just one) when we are in the New Jerusalem?  Or will our actions on earth all we will be rewarded for?  Also, do you think the treasure we store up in Heaven might have something to do with a monetary system we’ll we’ll use to buy and sell there?

A.  The Bible doesn’t provide any details about our life in the New Jerusalem.  All mention of things like money (Matt. 6:19-21) and status or position (Luke 19:11-27) concern what we do with Earthly resources.  From this, I’ve concluded that one of a believer’s primary goals should be to use the resources we’re given during our life on Earth to prepare for our life in eternity.  In other words, this life should be used for preparation because the next life is focused on reward.

That said, we should always remember that even those who enter the Kingdom with nothing, like the ones described in 1 Cor 3:10-15  will be immeasurably better off than those who don’t make it in at all.