wants us to experience a sense of being useful and the joy that comes from
this. He has connected usefulness – productivity – with delights and rewards.
And it should be a warning to us if we are not receiving them. The Lord said
that any tree which did not bear good fruit would be cut down and cast into
the fire. If our lives produce very little of value, if they have not brought about
much good, then there has been a self-centeredness, which is a description of
hell. We are not rewarded for this, just as someone who is not working does
not get paid.
Yet, if we expect a significant return in this world, if we expect to see
boundless fruit and success for any or all of our efforts here, we are going to
be extremely disappointed. For each of us has started much that will never be
finished here.
For example, think of the mass of information that has filtered through
our minds during our lives. How much of it has produced tangible fruit? Of
course, each piece of information had a value in its own right in developing
our minds. But since we can only recall a very small portion of it we think it
was useless. Yet it is all there, and if not used in this life, will be in the next.
The Writings of the New Church give a perspective that is designed to bring
us comfort and to spur us on. They point out that most of our fruitfulness will
not be primarily apparent in this world but in the next. They say: “Everything
that has life in it from the Lord is fruitful and multiplies without limit. This
does not happen during a person’s lifetime, but in the next life it does so
to an astonishing extent.” (Arcana
Coelestia 43) There, it is “unbelievably
increased.” (Ibid. 1941)
In Isaiah the Lord says: “And I
have put My words in your mouth; I
have covered you with the shadow of
My hand, that I may plant the heavens,
lay the foundations of the earth, and
say to Zion, you are my peace.” (Isaiah
51:6)
This is what the Lord is doing with
our lives here: laying the foundations,
planting the heavens. Everything that
occurs in this world is directed toward
that end. We were created not primarily
to enjoy a happy life on this earth, but
to produce good eternally. The purpose
of creation looks to heaven, not to this
world. So the Lord uses everything we
The purpose of creation
looks to heaven, not to
this world. So the Lord
uses everything we do
in this world to sow
seeds that can grow
forever. Because of this,
much of the fruits of our
labors are not visible
to us in this life, but
will be in the future.
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