I’m not in heaven yet . . .

In last night’s Bible study, we read a verse about the love of God for His Son Jesus Christ and how Jesus said His love for us is like His Father’s love for Him. I suppose most in the room were thinking in terms of warm fuzzies. Then it was mentioned how that ‘love’ sent that Son to earth to die on a cross. We were immediately focused on the reality that the love of God may not protect us from all pain and sorrow, or from all harm. Nevertheless, that love is remarkable during the troubles of life . . .

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3–7)

First, in relation to eternity and even to the days of this life, the grief of trials is ‘for a little while.’ When I kept a paper journal, I wrote on various empty pages “This too shall pass” to remind me that life might have nasties, but they would not last forever.

I tend to focus on the negatives, my thoughts are far better when I remember my “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Being in the presence of the Lord forever makes small the problems here. In this I can rejoice.

Another bonus to trials is that God uses them. My struggles are not purposeless. They test and prove my faith, and when Christ returns, they will result in “praise and glory and honor.” Like almost everything worth having, this is a costly result, yet I think of marathon runners, good mothers, hard-working business people and a host of others whose preparation and work are difficult and at times even painful, but in the end there are rewards that make the sweat worthwhile — and those are temporary challenges and temporary rewards. Serving Christ in faith is the challenge of a lifetime and the reward is eternal.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, today seems ordinary to any onlooker, yet my heart is filled with concerns about unsaved family, problems of friends and neighbors, and bits and pieces of bad news in the world. These too are trials that test my faith. The joy so far has been limited to glimpses of answered prayer. Yet Tozer is correct in saying: “Every day we are blessed with new opportunities for the development of strength of soul.”

I need to turn my heart to Your power and promises and rejoice that You saved me. That means You can do the same for everyone on my prayer list. Your grace and love can break through all darkness and grant my loved ones the same inheritance.