Eternal life: the same reward for all

Matthew 20:1-16 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

The reward for all human beings who make it back to Paradise is the attainment to eternal life. The reward is the same either for those who were the first to attain to these or for those who were the last to get there. They all attain the same status of eternal life. As mentioned earlier, there are those who completed their cycles of development much quicker and are already in Paradise, even though they set out at about the same time as we did. They took a straight course and did not waste any time at all. They have already achieved the status of eternal existence.

When finally we complete our cycles and find our way into Paradise, we will also achieve the same status. Exactly the same. Those who got there first will not be more than us because they got there first. The status is exactly the same, the goal is exactly the same. This is what this parable meant to indicate. Everyone receives the same wage no matter for how long he or she has been working.

That was the promise made to every human spirit when we left Paradise at the beginning of our cycle of development. There is nothing unjust about it. It is not a race or a competition as to who gets to Paradise first. The main thing is that we must make sure that we get there through harmonising our lives with the Laws of God.

Matthew 20:20-23 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. (21) And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” (22) But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” (23) He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Zebedee’s sons are human spirits and have asked that they sit by the side of Jesus in His Kingdom. Jesus is a Part out of God and as such His origin is completely different from those of human beings. Human beings can never be Divine. Even in their highest maturity they will always be of the spirit. A species can never go beyond its origin. Here Zebedee’s sons, being ignorant of the Laws of God asked that they be made Divine. Asked that they also share in the Nature of the Creator which is impossible for them.

This is the reason that Jesus asked them if they could drink from His cup. He did not mean a physical cup nor did He mean cup of suffering as people have tried to interpret this; He asked them whether they would be able to bear the Power of Radiation, which those who are able to live in the proximity of God must be able to bear. Zebedee’s sons being human spirits would not be able to bear this Radiation and as such it would be impossible for them to sit beside Jesus in His Divine Kingdom.

It is those who at the very outset have been created Divine who can share in Jesus’ Divine Kingdom. This is why He said that it was not for Him to grant but for those for whom it has been prepared. These are the Divine Beings Who have been created at the outset as Divine by God. Through this, they already earn the right to sit by Jesus through the nature of their being. No human being can be made into a Divine Being. He has his origin in a specific realm, the Spiritual and it is impossible to add the nature of the Divine to his nature. This is the reason Jesus answered the mother that she did not know what she was asking. She was asking the impossible.

Matthew 20:24-28 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. (25) But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. (26) It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, (27) and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; (28) even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus here exhorted His disciples to be humble. Never ask to be great. Their purpose was to serve and never to seek to be masters. They were to follow His examples whereby He served with His entire Being. He served God and in this process also helped human beings. It is only in serving God that we become great. In serving we put our abilities to use, which become stronger and stronger and we also as a result obey the Law of necessary movement in this Creation. Also in serving we practice what to the human being is absolutely vital: humility. Without this he can never achieve anything for his spirit.

Of what use is it to sit in an armchair and indolently expect to lord it over others. In demanding that others serve us something unsound and unnatural is created whereby we will have to resort to force to ensure that this happens if those that we demand to serve us refuse to do so. This is actually the bane of mankind of today. The reasons for some of the ills in society is this demand that others serve us while we sun ourselves in glorified indolence.

There is bound to be a one-sidedness and resentment which will breed conflict. If everyone wished to serve then there would be that voluntary exchange of services whereby peace and harmony would reign. There would be no slaves and masters and therefore no need to resort to force to compel the wills of others. The wish of many, however, never to lift a hand in service through the domination of the intellect has led to this unnatural aberration.

We would rather be served than to serve and we insist on maintaining this position and in fact could only maintain this position through the use of violence. It is an unnatural position and this is the reason that it demands the use of force for it to survive. Through the domination of the intellect we debase and lose our human dignity and would stop at nothing to maintain the status quo. We would kill, maim, torture, whatever it takes.

This goes to prove that in this way we lack even the slightest vibrations of our spirits which would normally feel the sufferings of our fellow men and which also has a natural sense of justice built within. We become dehumanized. We do not know this however, we think that we are the best of humanity and it is not so surprising that we should think so.

Through the distorted intellect we have already reached the limits which we can never cross which is earthly. We will never know that beyond this boundary lies all Life.