Lord, help me to take the insights You show me today and apply them to my life. Amen
"Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them" (Revelation 14:13).
Do you have a mother or father, brother or sister, child or loved one in heaven? This verse gives us a glimpse of what they are doing there in the presence of the Lord.
The word "blessed" in this verse is the Greek word "makarios" which means "happy". Our loved ones are not just sitting around in silent, somber reverence; they are rejoicing as they experience all that God has created heaven to be! Think of the artistry God has put into heaven. The God Who sculpted the wings of the butterfly and blended the hues of the rainbow; the God Who paints the meadows with daffodils - that is the God Who made heaven.
Heaven is all that the loving heart of God would desire, the omniscient mind of God can conceive, and the omnipotent hand of God can perform. How could a person be anything but overjoyed in a place like that? Heaven is a place of great rejoicing.
Not only are those in heaven rejoicing; they are resting. That doesn't mean they're sleeping for eternity of lying around on a fluffy cloud, wearing a wooly robe and a rusty halo. The Bible says God's servants will serve Him in heaven (Revelation 22:3). But they will not have to labor against sickness, sorrow or sin - ever again! What a glorious rest they have entered into.
So picture them rejoicing, resting - and being rewarded. Even the smallest act of Christian kindness has not gone unnoticed by God, and they will be rewarded for what they have done on earth (Revelation 22:12). Works do not bring us to heaven, but they do follow us to heaven. One day, we too will realize God's rewards as we joint those who have gone before us to enjoy eternal rest and happiness in the amazing heavenly home our Father has created.
~Adrian Rogers~
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