Friends, do you find yourself longing for heaven? I must say, I look for Him daily. If we love Him. If we live a life in faith. We should be seeking Him more and more as the days go by. Just what if this was the last day you had here on this earth? Sometimes I find myself pondering what I would be doing if the Lord returned today. Hm..some days He would find me in His Word. Some days He would find me laughing and encouraging others. He would most likely find my nose buried in a book. But, some days, well, I wouldn't want Him to find me in my pity pot. I wouldn't want Him to return as my road rage has caught me as I'm traveling down the highway. Nope, not on the days where I'm a crab and downright sassy. The thing is, we don't know when He will return. We know it's soon. We know He's coming for those who love Him, but what are we doing to prepare?
We make tons of lists. We prepare for the baseball game. We prepare for the coming weeks. Vacation is on our schedule. We wake preparing for work and our daily duties. We prepare for just about everything in life. Think back at those tests you stayed up all night for to receive that appreciated A. I think about how I am preparing for heaven and how I am not preparing. We long for it, but what are we doing to get others prepared? Am I really sharing His love everywhere I go? Do all of my neighbors I see in their yards daily know Him? Does my family seek Him? I don't even want to answer all of those questions, but I know, one day, Jesus just might ask me, "Where were you, My daughter? Why were you not busy in My work? Why are you so unprepared?" To think of that simply breaks my heart.
I want to be totally sold out for Christ. I want to give Him all. I want to surrender to His every call. But here's the thing. What if this was all there was? Nothing more, nothing less. Would I still worship Him? Would I still serve Him and seek Him daily? That kind of places faith in perspective doesn't it? Ah, do we believe just because we are tired of life on earth and want peace in heaven or do we sincerely want to serve and live for Him regardless of the reward? I have to remind myself daily about what my real motivation is.
I was thinking of His love this morning. His love is so real. I cannot imagine life without Him. I feel His presence with me. I know that He is here cheering me onward. I hear His soft whisper telling me to slow down and be still. Too many times I miss all the details when I am trying so hard to see the big picture. It's like going to the art museum and standing before a painting. It captures your senses. It captivates your thoughts. We stand in awe of the beauty before us, but it isn't until we spend more time there, that we notice each brush stroke. We see the intricate detail and that's when we stand in awe of how this master painter designed such beauty.
We are His workmanship. He created every little detail about us and He didn't stop there. He put our life in place moment by moment and set blessing before us to witness and take hold of. He isn't finished with us yet. To think that my name was written in the Book of Life before I ever took my first breath amazes me. He loves me so much and had a great hope even then that I would love Him. That I would seek Him and live my life sold out for Him, that in advance, He put my name in the Book of Life, hoping that I would say yes to His invitation to be my Savior. My name will not be blotted out at the end of my life. It will remain and friends, that gives me a great hope of what is to come and how much I should treasure each moment He gives me here. I shouldn't long for heaven so greatly that I forget there is work to be done. There are blessings to behold and treasures to unfold.
No matter what happens, at the end of the day, God is still good. He is good all the time. There is no love greater than the love He has for you and me. I want to live out my life that even if this is all there is to life, that He would still find me seeking Him just because He loves me, not for what He can give me.
It is my hope today that you too seek Him. Maybe today is a new spring in your life. I hope we can wake looking for joy and not allowing our circumstances to steal away all that He has for us. Look for Him today. Look around every corner and bend in the road. You are sure to find Him and when you do, let the praises begin.
"And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found blameless in His sight."
2 Peter 3:14
"But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent."
2 Peter 3:8-9
"So be truly glad. There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remians strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Through you do not see Him now, you must trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls."
1 Peter 1:6-9
