In this brief article we have spoken only of the consequences of not living faithfully before the Lord. There is another side of the coin and it is of equal importance. The other side is that there are unimaginably glorious rewards for serving the Lord.

The Kingdom of God is a real Kingdom, a realm of authority that includes a king, a nobility, and people who are governed. It will be located in the earth. It will be installed when the Lord appears from Heaven. It is the Kingdom spoken of by John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus as they proclaimed: "Repent for the Kingdom of God, of Heaven, is at hand!"

We are not speaking here of a fantasy land in the spirit realm but of a social order on the earth in which people live and move and do ordinary things. The concept of going to Heaven to live in a fantasy land is closely related to Gnosticism, which teaches that matter is evil and spirit is good. We Christians know, however, that God pronounced the material world "very good" and that sin and rebellion came from the spirit world.

When we enter the Kingdom of God, at the coming of the Lord Jesus, we shall have desires. We shall want to do certain things, to be in specific places, to have desirable relationships with the Lord and with people.

How much freedom we shall have to obtain our desires depends on our faithfulness in serving the Lord today. Those who truly take up their cross and follow the Master will have their heart's desire given to them. Those who walk in righteousness will have need of no good thing—all shall be given to them.

Those who follow the Lord afar off will not only be punished, they will be governed by more diligent people (if they are permitted to enter the Kingdom at all). They will not be free to go wherever they please, to do whatever they want. They will not be permitted to enter the glorious inheritance of the faithful saints.

Right now we cannot see the rewards that will be given to the diligent believers and so we are apt to be careless with the things of God. What our eyes can see on the earth may appeal to us so strongly that we neglect prayer and obedience to God.

But when the Lord comes and we see the possibilities for joy that exist in the Kingdom of God we are going to be in an agony of remorse because we have restricted ourselves to such an extent.

Abraham is an example of a saved person who pleases God by his obedience. Lot is an example of a saved person who lives a careless, self-seeking, self-centered life.

Compare the glorious circumstances of Abraham with the pathetic, threadbare existence of Lot hiding in the cave with his two daughters. Abraham is the father of all who believe, He will sit down with Isaac and Jacob in wondrous glory in the Kingdom of God—a prince among the princes of God.

Where will Lot be in that day? Lot through his incestuous daughters became the father of Moab and Ammon, the cursed of the Lord.

To be continued.