davidbowerkingwood

Peace and Joy on Earth

Previously the joyous nature of the Judgment Seat of Christ was described. It was emphasized that the Bema has nothing to do with salvation but relates to works done in our mortal bodies whether they were done in the power of the Holy Spirit or the power of the flesh.

We know from Galatians 5:22 that love, joy and peace are part of the fruit of the Spirit and God’s gracious gift to His children who walk a Spirit led life. We also know that in heaven we will enjoy a perfect, sin-free unity with God at every possible level so the fruit of the Spirit should characterize our lives all of the time. 

I retired from a 36 year career in homebuilding in 2004 and have really enjoyed my retirement. One of the things I appreciate most is our morning coffee as I watch the traffic report; I commuted through Houston traffic for many years and I’m really and truly happy to simply watch it on TV.

My retirement has generally been a quiet time allowing me to choose what I want to do and when I want to do it. Very few seek me out or ask my advice on anything and that’s quite all right with me.

The point of all this is the fact that I have learned to be content and I do not feel left out or unimportant. I have complete peace with my situation as a nonentity and have absolutely no feelings of envy for others who may have positions of prominence or influence.

The situation of everyone I know is very similar to mine; the people I know all seem generally happy and at peace with their lives. I doubt that any of us are on a first name basis with any world leaders or captains of industry and that suits me just fine and I suspect it suits them just fine as well.

That probably characterizes most, if not all of us even though we still have that annoying old sin nature; we’re pretty much at peace with life. I don’t mean to say our lives are totally free of problems; during out earthly stay that is impossible. We deal with the problems as best we can and then move on.

Peace and Joy in Heaven

If we can generally be at peace now, infected by our old sin nature, then I strongly suspect we’ll be at peace in heaven when our sin nature is gone regardless of the job our Lord gives to us. I believe we will have perfect peace and joy in the role to which we will be assigned.

None of us can even imagine what the Lord has planned for our eternity; I’m confident we’ll be busy and have work to do. Whether it’s watching over some animals, tending a garden, or ruling a planet only the Lord knows. Whatever it is I believe we will be delighted with our assignment and have total joy and peace as we perform the tasks assigned to us by our Lord regardless of how lofty or how humble they may be.

In the meantime may the Lord grant you grace and peace. “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.”