In today’s Second Lesson, a man comes up to Jesus and asks him this question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The man is sure he has come to someone who can answer him. He addresses Jesus with the respectful title, “Good Teacher;” he even kneels down on the ground in front of Jesus before he speaks.

Of course, this question could be on the mind of anyone. Any of us can fear the oblivion of death. And anyone who wishes to survive the destruction of his body will be glad to “inherit eternal life.”

Yet I think that people in our time who are afraid of death are more likely to ask a different question. They wonder, “Is there an eternal life to inherit?”

People today speculate about how humans could survive the death of their bodies. They don’t worry about the inheritance part. They assume that if they can make it into a realm beyond this material world, then a good and loving God will accept them into Heaven.

This concern, though, isn’t only modern. During the time of Jesus, there were fierce debates in the Hebrew community about whether there is a life after death. The Sadducee party of Hebrew scholars argued that there was no survival. They pointed to passages in the Old Testament that suggest that individuals don’t have immortality; only the nation of Israel will be preserved by the Lord forever.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed that God wouldn’t let his beloved children perish. Jesus himself agreed with this teaching. And he added his own view that God offers life after death to those who have chosen to suffer in this life in order to help others.

Thus in the mind of Christ, the two questions are related. God grants eternal life so that justice can be done. We can’t simply assume that if it is possible to survive death, then we will be among the survivors.

But I would agree with modern people that the existence question seems more pressing than the ethical question. The more difficult thing to believe is that physical human beings can survive death.

After all, by definition, there can be no first-hand evidence of immortality: as the saying goes, “When you’re dead, you’re dead.”

I’m aware there are testimonies of people who have been clinically dead and then revived and reported they had visions of heaven. These reports of what are called “near-death experiences” are intriguing—they talk of travelling through tunnels and meeting a being of light and so on. I once discussed them in an academic journal; they do present a unique kind of evidence for survival.

For example, a classmate of mine from college had a near-death experience following an auto accident. It so impressed him that he became a Christian.

For most outside observers, however, near-death experiences wouldn’t constitute proof of life after death. Even if you had such an experience yourself, you might wonder if it was a trick your brain played on you in an extreme situation.

On the other hand, Christians have additional reasons to have faith in God’s promise of life in Heaven. We already believe in the resurrection of Jesus. We already know God to be loving and all-powerful.

From these beliefs, we can conclude that God plans for us to have eternal life with him. In this way, God insures that values of love and creativity are fostered beyond this world. People who had a raw deal in this life could flourish in the next, and everyone could develop the virtues they acquired in serving God on earth.

At the same time, if we trust in God to give us immortality, then we would want to please God before we go to our eternal reward! Surely, a just God would want his children to be just!

This suspicion is behind the question that the man poses to Jesus. For the eternal inheritance that man wants won’t be automatic.

Compare the way secular laws function. When a man’s parents die without a will, the law in most cases grants him their possessions. The law doesn’t care if he called them every week and cared for them diligently—these inheritance laws don’t depend on the heir’s behavior.

Mrs. Astor’s son only got in trouble because he forged a new will for his mother not because he neglected her. In a sense, this analogy holds for Christians. God grants us eternal salvation because of his loving grace, not because of any good works we might perform.

According to the doctrine of justification by faith, there is nothing we can do to earn immortality; it is a free gift from God.

Yet our inheritance from God is difference from secular legacies. For if we are bound for heaven, we ought to do everything we can to get ready for it. The man in the Gospel story expects that he will need to behave in the right way before he receives his eternal reward. We should make the best use we can of the time we have been given.

Notice that this would be prudent even if we were uncertain whether there is a life after death! The French philosopher Blaise Pascal noted that we have nothing to lose by living as though we were bound for Heaven. As he said, that is a good wager; if there is a Heaven, we will be ready—if there isn’t, we will have still lived a good life and we won’t have worried about facing our maker!

In this regard, too, it’s useful to recall the biblical notion of “the Book of Life.” According to this idea, the names of the righteous are recorded in a heavenly book in order to insure that when they die, they will receive their reward.

Sometimes it’s been suggested that every good deed and every bad deed is recorded in the Book of Life. A moving verse in Psalm 56 says that even our tears are noted. These records remain hidden until we get to Heaven, when each of us will be reminded of what we have done on earth.

Today we might compare the Book of Life with the vast computers that keep detailed records of financial transactions. Every bill paid or not paid is recorded somewhere! Maybe in heaven, we will turn out to have moral “credit scores” as well!

In any event, it’s useful to imagine that every thing we do is noted by God. Every kind favor to a sick friend is credited to our account; every temper tantrum is written down on the debit side.

In response to God’s promise of life in Heaven, we give something back. If, like the man in the story, we are too attached to money, then we should share our wealth.

Our main duty, though, is to build up treasure in Heaven. For paying attention to our own behavior and piling up good deeds in the Book of Life also yields dividends right now. God asks for an inheritance tax—and that’s a tax worth paying!

And now unto that same God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion and praise, now and forever, Amen.