Claim. A human lifetime is “a dot” against eternity, yet the entire pattern of one’s eternal position is determined within it; the spirit world cannot retroactively fix what was left undone on earth.
Elaboration. SMM presses the disproportion: “How important is life on this earth? It is an instant that comes but once. Compared to eternity, life on earth is but a dot, an extremely short moment. It is insignificant. You have to go beyond your physical life and prepare for the spirit world” (4.6. Life on earth is so important, 207-99, 1990.11.1). The consequence is concrete: “In the spirit world you will live in a probation realm and wait there for some millennia. The levels of your Blessed Families are all different, so you go to the place that is consistent with your level and stay there for a long time… The time you will have to spend in that place will depend on the level of your accomplishments.” Spirit-world progress requires earthly accomplishment as its initiating condition — without it, the soul waits indefinitely at its earned level.
See also. csg-spirit-world-position-determined-by-altruism-on-earth