Missives

Lessons From The Job Site: Heaven Bound

By Bro. Vince Kluth
It's hard to displace a Texan from Texas. They are quite comfortable with all the largess their state affords them: big skies, an international reputation, plenty of land, bright sunshine...

It’s hard to displace a Texan from Texas.  They are quite comfortable with all the largess their state affords them:  big skies, an international reputation, plenty of land, bright sunshine, warm people, great food descending from those having lived there under six different flags, 254 counties, mountains in the southwest, beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, large lakes, reasonable gun laws, generally conservative politics, lotsa oil money, no state income taxes – and don’t forget the great Bar-B-Que.

 

So getting my 86-year-old Texan mother to (gasp) leave the state and come up to Yankee territory (more gasps) would not be easy.  Sure, there would be a new apartment on the side of her son’s house, built just for her.  But senior citizens typically move from cold to warmer climates, not vice versa.  Her brothers are in Texas.  Her grandkids are in Texas.  Her new great-granddaughter is in Texas.  It would require quite the sales job, and it better be very convincing.  This transplanted Texan knew the challenges.

 

Nothing attracts like a constant drip of good news. On a regular basis, starting from my time at the drawing board, I sent her plans, promises and pictures giving proof of daily construction progress.  She particularly liked the pictures of a sweaty son, swinging hammers or slogging in the mud.  Nothing says “love” as much as a dirty boy, all done for dear ‘ol mom.  Pictures kept coming:  the foundation, then the floor joists and subfloor, then walls, roof, siding, flooring, kitchen, paint, fixtures, concrete ramps and walkways.  As these pictures poured in daily, she got more and more excited to the point that she was ready to move.  She could see herself living there, ready and able to enjoy her custom-built home.

 

Likewise, God our Father gives us many plans, promises and pictures of our custom-built heavenly home.  He tells us through Jeremiah I know the thoughts (plans, purposes) that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. He speaks of the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord … in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory.  So great is our inheritance of the saints in light that we sometimes fail to grasp just how wonderful it is. What we need, therefore, are many pictures.

 

So, God gave us an entire book full of pictures typifying the grand work of redemption, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.  The law [had] a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things. Jesus spoke in parables, teaching truths about the kingdom of heaven in earthly terms.  Saints are likened unto five wise virgins; a good tree bearing fruit; grains of wheat, not tares; an householder bringing forth treasures old and new; a pearl of great price (for indeed, we were very expensive, and the Savior sold all to purchase us!); good fish from the sea caught in a net; and so on.  The Apostle Paul likens us, in our future spiritual body, to stars differing in glory.  He reminds us of our throne, reigning with Him forever, in a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. We shall not inherit corruption, but incorruption; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.  So great is our future that believers are compared to earth’s very best: Mount Zion (Ps. 125:1-2), Lebanon (Hos. 14:5-7), jewels (Mal. 3:17), gold (Job 23:10), stones of a crown (Zec. 9:16), lions (Pr. 28:1), eagles (Isa. 40:31), unfailing springs (Isa. 58:11), good figs (Jer. 24:2-7), trees planted beside rivers (Ps. 1:3), and green olive trees (Ps. 52:8).

 

In addition, God gives us many exceeding great and precious promises. He has called thee by thy name; thou art mine.  He has loved thee with an everlasting love.  He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will joy over thee with singing.  They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts … and I will spare them.  They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.  He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  Are you looking forward to your new home?

 

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