make an advantageous use of them until the time of His coming: “Trade till I come.”[1] By the wise Ecclesiasticus He tells us not to lose the smallest iota of precious time, but to spend it all in meritorious works: “Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good gift overpass thee.”[2] For that reason He has forbidden all idle words, and commanded us by the Apostle not to eat or drink or do anything except for the honor and glory of God: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God,”[3] so that during the whole day nothing may pass by without merit and an increase of heavenly glory. Therefore He condemns to eternal darkness the lazy servants who allow their talents to lie unused; and He casts into the fire the barren tree, although it may be green and covered with leaves.
So much does God wish us to add to our glory in heaven, and we think so little of it. My dear brethren, could God have done more either to make the increase of glory easier for us, or to prove His own great eagerness to see us amassing immense treasures for heaven? Admire, praise, bless, and thank His infinite goodness in occupying Himself so much for our welfare and greater interests. But at the same time wonder at and deplore the blindness and laziness of most Christians, who live as careless of that great good as if they knew or valued not their own eternal happiness. And how many there are who, buried in temporal cares, do not cast a thought on heaven once during the day! How many who have such low and grovelling minds that they say in the words quoted by Gerson: I do not want the merits of the apostles; I do not desire the highest place in heaven; if I can be happy with the lowest there I shall be content!
Exhortation always to strive for more glory in heaven. Christians, away with such thoughts! Far higher should our holy ambition ascend! Much more exalted should our desires be! If God had given to us mortals the choice of a state of life when we come to the use of reason, who would content himself with the condition of a poor peasant when he could have that of a rich lord, or prince, or king? Now the freedom that is not allowed us in this miserable world God has reserved for us in heaven, where the highest position of immortal glory may be ours if we choose. There we can, if we wish, be princes, kings, monarchs in glory and happiness; nay, the Almighty invites us to
