What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Have you ever given much thought to God’s purpose in your life? Now, I am talking about something much deeper than whether you are to be a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. To be sure, God is conforming all of His people into the image and likeness of His beloved Son; when that is completed, we will be ushered into the kingdom of the new heavens and the new earth. But when you go deeper still, God’s purpose for every believer is a process . . . not a place. And that process extends on into eternity.
You see, the ultimate goal in our relationship with Jesus is not to simply arrive in the new heavens and the new earth. Rather, the ultimate goal in our relationship with Jesus is our relationship with Jesus. That relationship will continue to grow and deepen from the moment we stand before Him unveiled on the other side of the grave and throughout eternity.
Eternity will be active, not passive. We will not be sitting atop a cloud, strumming a celestial harp for ever and ever and ever. Many mistakenly think the afterlife is like retirement, where we will just sit back and relax—shifting into neutral, if you will. Not true!
Eternal life will present us with the greatest opportunities and possibilities we could ever imagine. It will be one glorious and eternal adventure after another. In eternity, we will not only be worshippers, which would be more than enough, but we will be willing workers too. God has ministry magnified for each one of His children, and we will use all of our God-given gifts, talents, and abilities to continue bringing greater and greater glory to God. We will never grow weary. We will never get discouraged. We will never burn out. We will serve and serve and go from strength to strength, living at a level of significance that just isn’t attainable on this side of the grave.
Paul wrote, “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:3). I will confess that I am not exactly sure what that means. But I do know this: as we reign with our Lord Jesus Christ, the angels who were sent to minister to us here on earth will be, in some way, at our disposal to assist us in doing all that God calls us to do. To be sure, eye has not seen and ear has not heard what is in store for us in the Almighty’s adventure that awaits us!
So regardless of where this finds you today, pause and consider what awaits you on the other side of the grave. Be encouraged, knowing that God has not only prepared a place for you, He has ensured a process for you to live out throughout all of eternity.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 