The Opportunity of a Lifetime
Copyright © February 14, 2022 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Most people can recognize a golden opportunity after it becomes common knowledge to almost everyone. But by the time that everyone realizes that something was once a golden opportunity, it is usually too late to take advantage of that opportunity.
For example, consider the following historical golden opportunities:
- Telephones: In March of 1876 Alexander Graham Bell was able to transmit his voice over an ordinary electric wire between two rooms that were adjacent to one another. The scientific experts of that day laughed at Bell and they firmly stated that a sound wave could not be transmitted over an electric wire because an electric wire conducted electricity and a sound wave could never travel over an electric wire. These scientists said that anyone who invested their money in Bell's research deserved to lose every penny that they invested because they did not have the scientific wisdom to understand that they were being deceived. In the second half of 1876 Bell was able to successfully transmit the sound of a human voice over a telegraph wire between two telegraph offices that were a few miles apart. However, Western Union refused to invest in the invention because they firmly believed it was a useless toy that would never be of any practical value. In 1877 the Bell Telephone Company was created and by 1886 over 150,000 homes in the United States had telephones. The rest is history. It should be noted that the individuals who ignored the advice of the scientific experts and who invested some of their money in Bell's research gradually became millionaires. A million dollars was a lot of money in the late 1800s. (Note: The picture on the right is my grandmother Virginia May Jarvis-Atkins. She was the "Telephone Switchboard Operator" for Fort Monroe, Virginia during World War I and she handled all the incoming calls to the military base.)
- Polaroid Land Cameras: In 1937 Edwin Land formed the Polaroid Company. In 1947 Edwin Land developed a process that allowed for a specially coated camera film to develop a finished color picture in about one-minute. In 1948 the first Polaroid Land Camera, called the Model 95, was sold to the public. Far-sighted individuals who could see the potential of this new technology invested some of their money in the Polaroid Company and they gradually become extremely wealthy. Many years later when Edwin Land retired from the Polaroid Company the name "Land" was removed from the name of their cameras. The new leaders of the Polaroid Company began to make a series of decisions about the future of their company and in the year 2001 the Polaroid Company filed for bankruptcy. After restructuring, the "new Polaroid Company" went bankrupt again in the year 2008. This illustrates that companies can prosper and they can fail and a prudent investor will know when it is time to liquidate their investment in a company. As my father, Jason Lester Atkins, used to tell me, "Bulls make money and bears make money but pigs get slaughtered."
- Disneyland: In 1954 Walt Disney began construction of the "Mickey Mouse Theme Park" on 160 acres of farmland that he had purchased near Anaheim, California. He suggested to several of his close friends that they should consider purchasing some of the undeveloped farmland in close proximity to the land he had purchased, but most of his friends weren't interested in this very speculative venture. Since the park opened in 1955 more than 700 million people have visited Disneyland and it is one of the most famous theme parks in the world.
- Xerox Copy Machines: In 1959 Xerox introduced the "Xerox 914" which was a plain paper copier. In 1961 Xerox went public on the New York Stock Exchange and their stock sold for $104 per share. In 1963 the company introduced the "Xerox 813" which was a desktop size plain paper copier. The early copiers had the word "Xerox" printed in small letters on the outside edge of each copy the machine produced. Their sales increased by a multiple of 10 by 1965 and the price of their stock increased accordingly. People who had invested some of their money in Xerox stock became very wealthy. However, in January 2022 Xerox stock sold for $21 per share. As with most companies, the Xerox Corporation has had its ups and downs and their successes and their failures have been reflected in the price of their stock.
- Home Depot: In 1979 Home Depot launched their home-improvement superstores. In 1981 Home Depot went public on NASDAQ and in 1982 their stock sold for 12 cents per share. In 1984 they joined the New York Stock Exchange and their stock sold for 40 cents per share. In 1989 their stock sold for $1.42 per share. In January of 2022 their stock sold for $372 per share.
Being able to look back is easy. However, being able to recognize a golden opportunity when it is staring you in the face is a lot more challenging.
This article will take a look at a golden opportunity that may be available to you right now.
Discussion
For thousands of years people have had the following opinions about an invisible God:
- Some people do not believe in an invisible God.
- Some people believe in an invisible God but they do not believe in the God of the Holy Bible.
- Some people do believe in the God of the Holy Bible.
A person who believes in the God of the Holy Bible has the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior in order to receive God's eternal forgiveness for all their sins. When a person accepts Jesus as Savior that person is immediately granted the right to be an eternal citizen of heaven. And all the citizens of heaven will receive exquisite white clothes that will resemble the white clothing of Jesus and His angels.
The thief who died on the cross acknowledged Jesus as Lord and when that thief died his eternal soul entered Paradise. Unfortunately the thief did not receive any eternal rewards when he entered Paradise except for some beautiful white clothes and an immortal body that would live forever.
Isaiah 1:18-20 NIV
18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword."
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Revelation 3:4-5 NKJV
4 ... they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, ...
However, some of the citizens of heaven will receive more than eternal forgiveness, an immortal body, and some magnificent white clothes. Some people will receive eternal rewards in proportion to the deeds that they did while they were alive here on this earth if those deeds were done specifically to honor God as their creator. Some people will receive an eternal crown but some people will not. Each person will receive specific rewards based on how well they obeyed God while they were alive on the earth, and how well they did the things that God asked them to do in His Holy Bible. The motivation for doing our good deeds should be because we have faith in God, and we want to obey God, and we want to show our love for God, and we want to show our love for God's children.
There have always been a lot of people who do not believe in the God of the Holy Bible but they still do good deeds simply because they believe that doing good deeds is the right thing to do. These people are self-motivated and they believe they do not need any God to tell them how to live a good moral life. These people are depending on their own righteousness to save them but they will be eternally disappointed when they stand before God on their day of judgment.
Isaiah 64:6 NIV
6 ... all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
Matthew 25:41 NIV
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' "
However, every person who is alive right now still has the opportunity to accept Jesus as Savior, and to earn eternal rewards that will last forever.
Daniel 12:10 NIV
10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
Matthew 16:27 NIV
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Revelation 22:12 NIV
12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."
After a person arrives in heaven then that person can still receive rewards for the good things they do after they arrive in heaven. But a person will never be able to receive any of the special rewards that God has promised to everyone who will honor Him while they are still alive here on the earth. Those special eternal rewards will be based on our earthly deeds and those special rewards are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For example, everyone who tells other people here on earth about Jesus will receive a reward for their faith when they arrive in heaven. But it will be too late to share the good news about Jesus in heaven because everyone in heaven will already know about Jesus.
Proverbs 11:30 KJV
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
1 Corinthians 9:25 NKJV
25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
Conclusion
In the 1950s Walt Disney took his friend Art Linkletter to see the 160 acres of land that he had purchased and he told Art about his plans to build a "Mickey Mouse Theme Park." And Walt encouraged Art to buy some of the nearby farmland as an investment. Art sincerely thanked Walt for sharing his plans with him and he promised he would look into it. But Art never purchased any of the farmland that Walt had taken the time to show him. Nobody knows why. Perhaps it was because Art knew that Walt had become famous by creating imaginary cartoon characters that did entertaining things that amused children. But what chance could a theme park have that was based on an imaginary fictional mouse? Therefore Art did not take advantage of the golden opportunity that one of his best friends had laid at his feet.
Today there are a lot of people who believe that the concept of God was created and refined in the minds of people down through the ages, and that God does not exist, and that God is only a imaginary character that some weak-minded people chose to believe in. Therefore they chose to not believe in the God of the Holy Bible, and they chose to disregard what the Holy Bible teaches. Instead they chose to believe whatever appeals to their intellect and that also allows them to invest their lives in whatever seems reasonable to them. If these people continue to reject God's free gift of forgiveness in His Only Son Jesus, then these people will not become eternal citizens of heaven. If they do accept God's free gift of forgiveness but they do not demonstrate their love for God by doing the things that God asks us to do in the Holy Bible, and if they do not do good deeds in the name of Jesus in order to honor their Savior, then they will not receive any eternal rewards when they arrive in heaven.
1 Timothy 6:18-19 NIV
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NIV
10 But each one should be careful how he builds.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Hosea 14:9 NIV
9 Who is wise? He will realize these things.
Who is discerning? He will understand them.
The ways of the LORD are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior? Do you do good deeds in the name of Jesus because you want to demonstrate your love for Jesus by obeying His commandments? If you have done these things then you have found and taken action on the opportunity of a lifetime. If you have not done these things then you are missing the opportunity of a lifetime.
May God Bless,
Grandpappy.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com