If there is a child of God somewhere who doesn’t want to hear when life has ended, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” … I’ve never met them!
God’s Book speaks often of the home of the soul otherwise identified as heaven! Jesus would tell His disciples in what was certainly an almost earth-shattering conversation that He was going away very soon (John 13:31-35).
And then we find the most encouraging of words recorded in John 14:1-4, “Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
How difficult it must have been to hear the earlier revelation of His leaving Him … but how encouraging it must have been to His disciples to hear Him speak such loving and encouraging words.
These were words of hope … reassurance … comfort … and reward. To be a child of God has never been held out in the Bible to be a lifestyle that was trouble-free (Matthew 5:9-12; (2 Timothy 3:12). Living a life in a very dark world as “light” … functioning daily in that darkness by adding the flavor of “salt” along with its preservative qualities is serious duty!
And as we journey through this life, striving and stretching to stay strong and faithful … to not give in or give up when tempted … the fact is we can and do grow “weary in well doing.” (Galatians 6:9)
God knew we would need encouragement throughout the journey … He knew we would need to be lifted up from time to time. And so, the many promises made and the confirmation that “God is faithful.”
What He promises … He supplies! What He promises … He will most certainly do! What He promises as a reward for serving Him even to the point of death … is eternal life!
God does not forget His own and He does not forget their faith … their works of righteousness … their steadfastness! These assurances can be seen in passages such as Isaiah 41:10; 49:14-16.
As God’s. people, when even a hint of weariness arises, He has provided us with the knowledge … the truth … that He sees all. Commonly, the thought of His seeing all can be unsettling, and rightly so if living in sin!
But the other side of that truth is that even if no one else knows of sacrifices made, sufferings experienced, or hardships endured … He knows … He sees … and He remembers.
The words of Hebrews 6:10-12 ought to be underlined, highlighted, or in whatever way you identify especially meaningful verses. The inspired writer was writing to Christians, and he was writing to encourage them not to back off in their service, and grow weary in their service, but to stay focused on the goal.
I will tell you without any hesitation or reservation, even the best and the strongest of God’s people get weary! He wants each of us to remain diligent, and never lose our trust in Him … no matter what!
“But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:9-12)
You do not want to miss Heaven, my friend, brother, or sister in Christ! He is waiting to “receive us unto Himself.”
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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