The sign in the store window read, "Boy wanted." A young man walked into the store, applied for the job, and was hired. Mr. Peters, the storeowner, instructed him to go into the attic of the building. "You will find a long, deep box up there," he said. "I want you to sort through the contents and see what should be saved."

The boy went into the attic and began sorting through the old box of junk. Not much later he came downstairs, complaining that the attic was hot and he didn’t want to finish the job. At the end of the day, Mr. Peters paid the boy and told him not to return.

The next day the sign went up in the widow again. A boy named Crawford Hill came into the store to apply for the job. Mr. Peters hired him and sent him to the attic to sort through the articles in the box.

Crawford spent hours looking through the box, separating usable nails and screws from things that should be thrown away. When he picked up one of the last items in the box, he noticed a twenty-dollar bill lying on the bottom. He grabbed the bill, raced downstairs, and said, "Look Mr. Peters! Look what I found in the box—twenty dollars!" Then he handed the money to his boss. Mr. Peters smiled because he knew that he could trust the boy to work in his store.

The old junk box was merely a test. Mr. Peters had filled it with nails, screws, and other items to test his employee’s faithfulness. He wanted to see if the boy would complete the job and keep a good attitude, even though he didn’t understand why he was doing seemingly useless work. Mr. Peters had also planted a twenty-dollar bill at the bottom of the box to test his employee’s honesty. If he didn’t report finding the money, how could Mr. Peters trust him with the cash register?

By finishing the job in the hot attic and giving the money to his boss rather than pocketing it, Crawford proved that he was both faithful and honest. Years later, when Mr. Peters retired, he turned his business over to Crawford to manage.

Did you know that life on earth is also a test? All our earthly responsibilities—even the ones that seem insignificant—are in the old junk box in the attic. God is watching us to see if we will faithfully sort through life’s experiences, keeping the good, throwing out the junk, exhibiting a positive attitude when we don’t understand, and finishing our work. If we prove ourselves to be good and faithful during our earthly test, God will grant us far greater duties in the next life.

We can gain insight into God’s eternal plan for His children in the parable of the minas. A mina was a bag of coins, usually silver, that weighed approximately one pound. (They are called "pounds" in the King James Version).

"A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’" (Luke 19:12–13)

The nobleman told the slaves to do business while he was away. Although the slaves had identical resources, they produced different amounts. One slave gained a profit of ten more minas, while another slave made five.

When the nobleman returned after receiving his kingdom, he rewarded the slave who made ten minas by giving him authority over ten cities (Luke 19:17). He put the slave who produced five minas in charge of five cities. Their rewards were directly proportional to their productivity. The minas were simply a test to prepare them for much greater assignments, just like Mr. Peters’ junk box tested Crawford Hill’s faithfulness.

I think it’s significant that the master rewarded these slaves after he received the kingdom for himself. Could it be that these are future assignments in the next life? If the nobleman receiving the kingdom refers to Christ’s second coming, then the rewards would pertain to the next life. If that’s the case, as many Bible scholars believe, then one of the main reasons for our earthly existence is to get us ready for the next world.

The mina league—our earthly responsibilities—prepares us for the major league—our eternal responsibilities. Whoever makes full and faithful use of opportunities for the Lord’s service here will be blessed more richly in eternity.

Our earthly lives serve a dual purpose. We are carrying out God’s will to please Him in everything we do, but we are also in training for our eternal assignments. Earth is our temporary world to prepare us for the everlasting kingdom which will never be destroyed. "And the world is passing away…but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). By living each day to please God, we can make today count for eternity. This is why we need to view our lives, not in terms of seventy or eighty years on earth, but in light of forever. The end of this life is the beginning of the next.

Never forget that your calling extends beyond this present world. Paul reminded the Corinthians of their eternal calling and destiny. He said, "Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:2–3)

Our heavenly assignments will be far more advanced than anything in this life. God is training us for something spectacular in the next world. He has placed His children all over the world and equipped us with varying abilities to accomplish His purposes on earth. Although our everyday duties often seem mundane and routine, some have great importance in God’s eyes. We are in the process of sorting through the junk box in the attic.

If we are faithful in managing our responsibilities here on earth, God will entrust us with His eternal treasures in heaven. Jesus said, "If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you?" (Luke 16:11). I believe these "true riches" are our rewards—our eternal assignments. Before we manage true riches, we must be faithful with the minas we are handling in this life.

George Boldt worked faithfully for years at the front desk in a small hotel. One day an elderly couple came in the lobby and asked for a place to stay. Every room in the hotel—and every hotel in town—was occupied. Realizing that the elderly couple had nowhere to sleep, Boldt offered them his own room. Although they were reluctant to take his offer, they eventually did so because George insisted.

The next morning when the couple was checking out, the elderly man said, "You’re the kind of man who should be managing the best hotel in the country. Someday I’m going to build that hotel and let you manage it."

Several years later, Boldt received a letter in the mail. It contained a round-trip ticket from the man to whom he had given his room years before. The man invited George to visit him in New York City.

When Boldt arrived in New York, the gentleman took him to a downtown corner where a huge building stood. "George, this is the hotel I built for you to manage." Boldt stared in amazement at the glorious structure. The hotel was the Waldorf-Astoria! The elderly man was William Waldorf Astor, one of the wealthiest men in the country. Boldt’s faithfulness in managing a small hotel had prepared him to manage one of the most magnificent hotels this country has ever seen.

On judgment day, God will examine how well we managed our lives on earth. If we were faithful in fulfilling our responsibilities in this life, He will assign us better things to manage in the next life.

God wants you to realize the significance of your earthly existence so you can live up to your fullest potential. Don’t believe the lie that your life isn’t important. The few brief moments you live on earth will determine your responsibilities for all eternity. You only get one shot at living on planet earth—your Opportunity.

If you maintain your integrity and keep sorting through life’s junk box, you’ll pass the test. And there just might be a promotion waiting for you in the next world.

[Kent Crockett, "Life is a Test and Only a Test" Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001]