by Stan Mitchell

A businessman died suddenly and arrived at the pearly gates and was told the glad news that he could enter in. But being a good businessman, he wanted to make one last deal. "Could I," he asked, "go back to earth and bring some things up here with me?"

The Lord thought about it a moment, and then said, "Go ahead, but you can only bring what you can put in your briefcase."

So the businessman returned to earth, took his life's savings, and bought all the gold he could with it. When he returned to heaven, the Lord looked in the briefcase, and nodded his assent. "Go on in," he said. The businessman was thrilled!

Other residents of heaven came to welcome him. Proudly, he showed them the contents of his briefcase. They were all bewildered.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. "It took all of my life's savings!" "We know," they replied. "But why would you sell your life's savings ... and buy pavement?"

But do you want to know the sad part of this story? You know, of course, that we don't get to make deals with God in heaven, or anywhere else, and that we can't take anything with us.

Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul behind it? But the worst part of this story is that our life's savings, our silver and gold, our computer equipment, cars, houses – everything – are marked HIGHLY FLAMMABLE!

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter 3:10). When it comes time to walk the streets of gold, remember that nothing on earth could live up to what is already there!