We've been talking about being heavenly minded and receiving heavenly rewards. By way of review, here is the basic
concept. If you are a Christian every single good thing you have ever done has been permanently recorded and you will receive a reward for it in the life to come. Now you may be wondering, "Why would God make a big deal out of little acts of kindness? Why would God reward me for reading my Bible or praying or going to church? I should be doing those things anyway!"
The answer to the question has to do with what's inside of us and where we live. What is inside of us is a nature that has been contaminated by the power of sin. It's easy to be bad. Imagine what would happen if you just let yourself go, if you started to live by impulse alone without self control. Most of us would be in jail before the end of the week.
And if that weren't bad enough we have to contend with what the Bible calls the world and the devil. The "world" is the society you live in with it's lifestyle and values. Trying to live for God on this planet is like standing waist deep in a stream while trying to walk against the current. There is a relentless pressure pushing you in the wrong direction. And then there is the devil. He really exists. He has minions. And they do tempt you. They attempt to mess with your mind and twist your thinking. And they have had thousands of years of practice in the manipulation of human souls.
You've got all of that going against you. So this is how I would sum it all up. For a human being, born with a sin contaminated nature, and having to struggle against the devil and the world, goodness requires a gritty determination that is very precious in the sight of God. (Yes, I know that we can't overcome these forces on our own and that we have to rely on Him for the strength to do right.)
So how, exactly, is this going to work? How is He going to acknowledge and reward us? I can't tell you exactly because I don't know exactly, but here are a couple of ideas.
Every time you meet someone for the first time in heaven God could introduce you to that person by doing a "data transfer" directly into your mind. What kind of data would God be transmitting to you? Think about a grandparent raving about their new grandchild. Imagine what it would be like if, when the new grandparent showed you pictures of the new grandchild, you were actually able to feel exactly what the grandparent was feeling for that child. Imagine what it would be like if you could share those emotions along with the pictures.
God has recorded every single thing good thing that you have ever done because this information is important to Him. It pleases Him. And so when you meet someone for the first time you might get a sudden revelation of every single good thing they ever did and with that information you would also feel exactly what God feels when He thinks about that information. You would actually feel the love, the tenderness, and the pride God feels when He thinks about that other person. And they would have the same experience as God "introduced" you to them!
Here's the other idea: reality TV! John said that everything was being written down when he wrote the Revelation. I wonder, if he was writing it today, if he would say that everything was being filmed? Please keep in mind that every single thing that has ever happened could, very easily, be reproduced as a film from the mind of God who sees everything and remembers everything.
A few weeks ago a young man I know was at a wedding. That evening, after the wedding, another wedding guest made a "move" on him. This woman knew he was engaged to be married but apparently that didn't matter to her one bit! They were staying at the same motel and it was only by saying "No!" repeatedly and forcefully that he was able to keep this woman out of his room (not to mention his bed). To which we might be tempted to respond, "Ho hum! Okay, he did the right thing, but was it really that big a deal? Do we need to give him a Merit Badge or something?"
But that's not the way that God looks at it. To God, every act of goodness is an important moment. He records it. He cherishes it. He will reward us for it. That reward could include something very much like our reality TV. God might honor us by taking episodes out of our lives and turning them into entertainment in the life to come. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to see the demon perched on this woman's shoulder (if there was one at that moment, there is no way to know for sure) whispering in her ear? And to be able to see the thing jump over to the young man and whisper in his ear? And then to see the young man, a committed follower of Jesus Christ, say "No!" not just to the young woman, but to his own sinful desires, to the way most of the world operates, and to the evil spirit behind the whole thing? That episode of reality TV could then go on to explore the implications of how the young man's life turned out. It could show the impact of the sin (had he committed it) on his later life and on his family. Would this sexual sin have opened the door to further infidelities? Would it have been the first step on a course that would have eventually lead him down a path that would have resulted in dishonor to God and the life long emotional scaring of his wife and children? Then the TV program could go on to record the way his life did turn out. We'd be able to see the whole incident from God's point of view.
In some way God is going to acknowledge us and honor us for the good we do in this life. The actually process by which He does this will probably be much cooler than either of the two ideas that I have suggested.
God is recording the fact that you are reading this blog right now. He knows what else you could be doing with this time. He knows how many millions of web sites there are and how you could, if you wanted to, be spending your time on something entertaining instead of trying to saturate your mind with His truth. (Although I would like to think that some of my wilder ideas might also be at least a little bit entertaining.) It's not wrong to read for entertainment on the web; I do it all the time. But when you give that time to God instead of using it for something frivolous you are taking a small piece of your life and giving it to him like an offering. He notices and He remembers.
Let me sum up by sharing with you the words of a morning prayer that I wrote.
Heavenly Father, it is my sincere desire to live for the praise of Your glory this day.
I want to please You in everything I do.
I want to do all my work for You.
Make me ever mindful of the fact that You are keeping score and that seemingly insignificant actions will bring future rewards.
Help me to understand that there are no insignificant actions - that the cameras are on and the film is rolling
My life is my ministry.
Every day is a sermon.
Every human interaction is a witness.
Every moment counts.
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