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A good, Christian man was at his lifes end. He knew he had only a few days left. He had no regrets, felt good about what he'd done for the world, and knew he'd be remembered as a loving man. He wasn't happy however, that he would be leaving the massive amount of wealth he had accrued from his lifelong career behind when he died.
One night, he prayed to God; "God, I have tried my very best to be as good a man as I could, sharing the gospel, helping those in need, and still keeping up with responsibilities to my family and to my job. I've worked so hard for both, but I know now that I must leave my wealth behind. If it would be in your will, could I take at least one suitcase with me to heaven?"
Then the man went to sleep. Later that same night, the man was awakened by a bright light. An Angel came down to see him! The Angel spoke, ''God has heard your prayers, and he has agreed. You've done a very good job doing everything! And He's proud of you. He thinks it would be okay to bring just ONE suitcase of whatever you like to Heaven." The angel departed as quickly as he came.
The man was overjoyed! On his last day, he asked his servants to liquidate a large portion of his assetts, purchase a suitcase full of sold gold bars, and placed it beside his bed. That night when he passed, he carried the suitcase with him up to Heaven.
As he reached the pearly gates, St Peter stopped him, "Whoa buddy, sorry but you can't bring that in here.'' The man said, ''But God answered my prayer, he said it was alright to bring just one suitcase.'' St Peter took a moment to check with an angel to see that this was true. It was, and satisfied, St Peter lead him in.
"But, before we let you go in, we want to do a check on your luggage to make sure everything is as God allowed.'' The man made no complaints, and handed over the heavy suitcase.
When St Peter popped open the lid, he gave a puzzling look to the man and asked ''Why did you bring pavement?''
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Not only is this joke funny, but it has a message I think is worth considering in it. True, we will have blessings in this life like wealth, that God has told us we are free to enjoy within his laws. We must remember though, free to enjoy now, but nothing compared to the future He has in store for us!
One night, he prayed to God; "God, I have tried my very best to be as good a man as I could, sharing the gospel, helping those in need, and still keeping up with responsibilities to my family and to my job. I've worked so hard for both, but I know now that I must leave my wealth behind. If it would be in your will, could I take at least one suitcase with me to heaven?"
Then the man went to sleep. Later that same night, the man was awakened by a bright light. An Angel came down to see him! The Angel spoke, ''God has heard your prayers, and he has agreed. You've done a very good job doing everything! And He's proud of you. He thinks it would be okay to bring just ONE suitcase of whatever you like to Heaven." The angel departed as quickly as he came.
The man was overjoyed! On his last day, he asked his servants to liquidate a large portion of his assetts, purchase a suitcase full of sold gold bars, and placed it beside his bed. That night when he passed, he carried the suitcase with him up to Heaven.
As he reached the pearly gates, St Peter stopped him, "Whoa buddy, sorry but you can't bring that in here.'' The man said, ''But God answered my prayer, he said it was alright to bring just one suitcase.'' St Peter took a moment to check with an angel to see that this was true. It was, and satisfied, St Peter lead him in.
"But, before we let you go in, we want to do a check on your luggage to make sure everything is as God allowed.'' The man made no complaints, and handed over the heavy suitcase.
When St Peter popped open the lid, he gave a puzzling look to the man and asked ''Why did you bring pavement?''
___________________________________________________________________________________
Not only is this joke funny, but it has a message I think is worth considering in it. True, we will have blessings in this life like wealth, that God has told us we are free to enjoy within his laws. We must remember though, free to enjoy now, but nothing compared to the future He has in store for us!
