Read Deuteronomy 3:18–29. Some people regret all their lives not having been diligent in their schooldays. And parents, who are not always listened to, warn their children that they are investing in themselves and that poor studies run the high risk of being penalized by a poor career; their entire future is at stake.

Is it not the same with the Christian? Except that his entire life is made up of school years. If in the Christian life on earth he is a lazy pupil, an amateur lacking in the only right ambition for the Christian, if he does not see very far ahead, his entry into the heavenly glory will not be richly blessed; he will suffer eternal loss (2 Pet. 1:9, 11). The children of Reuben and Gad instruct us to this effect. Being the first to take possession of their inheritance does not constitute having the best share. Quite the opposite! It is beyond Jordan where “the good land” and “those pleasant mountains” are (Dt. 3:25).

Moses knew this well. What a contrast between the dear leader, whose heart was beyond Jordan but who was not allowed to enter, and these two-and-a-half tribes who could have entered into Canaan but had not the slightest desire to do so! And where is your heart set? In heaven with Jesus or on the earth with its visible things which pass away (Lk. 12:34)?