The Gift

"Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." –Luke 10:20

As I was preparing to write this week’s blog post, I was planning on writing about Missions, the subject I had been studying for the past two weeks. In fact, I had already started a draft and knew where I wanted to go with the body of the blog. Yet it would seem that God has other plans. As I have been reflecting on what I have been learning, one clear lesson has jumped out.

I was praying and thanking God for the various gifts He has given me and it occurred to me that I was thanking Him for the very practical day-to-day things He provides, e.g. food, clothes, friends, shelter, etc. but not once did I thank Him for and rejoice in the fact that He had sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins in my place that I might inherit eternal life which He had prepared for me in eternity past, in short, I was not rejoicing that my name was written in heaven.

So what impact does this have, why does this matter? First, Christ, in the passage quoted above, commands and invites us to rejoice, not in the great things that He gives (at least, not primarily) but in the fact that we have salvation through Him and that, as a result, our names, my name, is written in heaven.

How wonderful us this! That because Christ came down from heaven, leaving the riches of His Kingdom to enter into the poverty of this earth, to suffer and eventually die in my place for my sins because He Himself was the only perfect substitution for me and all others who place their faith in Him; because of this, I have eternal life!

Second, it has been a major oversight on my behalf that I do not rejoice in this daily. I fail to see how great my sin is and how much in need of a Savior I am. I fail to see how much it cost Christ to purchase my salvation, and I fail to see the joy that I now have as a result of being saved.

One thing that was revealed to me as I mediated on this is that, because I was thanking God for these temporary blessings and these only, my joy was based in these. I noticed today that my life has been devoid of the joy that it should have. This is because I am looking for things that are temporary to provide me joy, and, being that they are temporary, they can only provide me joy for a short time. Thus, when they cease to provide the joy I expect, I am rendered joyless.

Yet, the salvation, which Christ has purchased, is eternal and my name is written in heaven, His home, where, when I die, I will go to enjoy eternity with Him and with all my brothers and sisters who have likewise trusted in Him. This joy is not temporary but eternal and is the only thing that can give true joy because it is not a thing, it is a person: Jesus Christ. He will never leave nor forsake any of His children, but is faithful to them forever. This is the gift I have been given; this is the reason I have for rejoicing!