"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering." (Hebrews 2:10 KJV)
""Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink - even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk - it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food."" (Isaiah 55:1-2 NLT)
Pretend for the moment that Jesus is speaking through these two verses in Isaiah, as if He is showing us the vast difference between doing what is right, verses doing that which hinders your fellowship with Him; all because you feel as if you are intitled to certain pleasures, even though you know they don't make you stronger, but actually cause you to be weaker and less attentive to the power of the Holy Spirit. Not that Jesus doesn't want to help you make the right choice, because He does; He is the one that gives you the abundant life; but we are the ones that allow it to be just that, abundant!
I heard Pastor Jon share on something, whether or not it is real, I don't really know; but it made perfect sense, if it turns out to be that way, I believe we get what we work for, even though we might work to serve ourselves. He basically called it, "Banging on Pans." The whole point was showing the ones who end up in Heaven, like young children, that are banging on pans, as if that is pretty much all they have learned to do.
I know it sounds strange; but there will be some kind of separation, as it were, an inner court and an outer court. Those who lived out their lives serving themselves, will be them who end up serving others; while those who served others, will be serving before the throne of God. At least that was the major point of Jon's message.
Personally, I will be happy just to be there, whether it's banging pans or handing out refreshments; just to be called a child of God, living in His Kingdom, is enough for me! If you have been following this blog, it was about the time my son passed away, I was reading Isaiah 6:1, which says, "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple."
As I sat my Bible down, I closed my eyes and tried to envision what Isaiah saw; but what I saw was not a royal robe, as if it was a long red robe; but it looked as if it was the train of a wedding dress; white and filled with all sorts of beautiful patterns. As I focused into a certain part of the train, I could see that there was something within the pattern. And, as I looked closer and closer, I saw myself woven into the pattern, with a smile up my face, holding onto the fabric...
"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" (Philippians 3:7-11 NLT)
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