And they that be wise shall
shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3.
In
our life here, earthly, sin-restricted though it is, the greatest joy
and the highest education are in service. And in the future state,
untrammeled by the limitations of sinful humanity, it is in service that
our greatest joy and our highest education will be found.
“If any man’s work abide ..., he shall receive a reward.” 1 Corinthians 3:14.
Glorious will be the reward bestowed when the faithful workers gather
about the throne of God and of the Lamb.... They have been partakers
with Christ in His sufferings, they have been workers together with Him
in the plan of redemption, and they are partakers with Him in the joy of
seeing souls saved in the kingdom of God, there to praise God through
all eternity.
A
Christian once said that when he reached heaven he expected to meet with
three causes of wonder. He would wonder to find some that he did not
expect to see there. He would wonder not to see some that he expected to
meet, and, lastly, he would wonder most to find so unworthy a sinner as
himself in the Paradise of God. Many who have stood in high places as
Christians upon earth will not be found with the happy throng that shall
surround the throne. Those who have had knowledge and talent, and yet
have delighted in controversy and unholy strife, will not have a place
with the redeemed.... They desired to do some great work, that they
might be admired and flattered by men, but their names were not written
in the Lamb’s book of life. “I know you not,” are the sad words that
Christ addresses to such. But those whose lives were made beautiful by
little acts of kindness, by tender words of affection and sympathy,
whose hearts recoiled from strife and contention, who never did any
great work in order to be lauded of men, these are found recorded in the
Lamb’s book of life. Though the world counted them as insignificant,
they are approved of God before the assembled universe.
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9.
As
we enter the kingdom of God, there to spend eternity, the trials and
the difficulties and the perplexities that we have had here will sink
into insignificance. Our life will measure with the life of God.
There,
immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders
of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no
cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty
will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of
knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the
grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations
reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new
heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend,
fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.
All
the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God’s
redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to
worlds afar.... With unutterable delight the children of earth enter
into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures
of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in
contemplation of God’s handiwork.... As Jesus opens before them the
riches of redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great
controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more
fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of
gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of
voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise....
One
pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him
who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the
realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest
world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshaded beauty and
perfect joy, declare that God is love.
-The Faith That I Live By, P. 370 & 371
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