AL: Joni, as we are on our way to see our Savior in Glory, let’s take just these few moments to review a couple of our important assignments for the Lord. So, let’s see… where do we start?
JONI: Well, I think, let’s see, number 1: As Christians we are citizens of heaven, so that means we have to count the cost.
AL: “And he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
JONI: Whether hugging children or hobnobbing with prostitutes, Jesus rubs the salt of lostness into the sensibilities of those who are preoccupied with earth’s successes. Heaven’s first place is reserved for the last, the least, the littlest, and the lost. Whether it’s crane operators or bag ladies, schoolteachers, recovering addicts; the tennis pro on a world tour or the homeless drunk living in an alley. Each person must consider himself lost to earth if he is to be found at home in heaven. And, let’s see, number 2: Citizens of heaven purify themselves. Right?
AL: How about this verse, Joni? “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself…”
JONI: Strangers and sojourners on this earth heading for heaven, we’ve got to cut away every earthly sin that entangles. That’s the only way to lighten the load down here on earth and have a livelier, more buoyant step of faith. As Bishop Ryle once wrote, “Heaven is a holy place. Its inhabitants are holy. Its occupations are holy. To be happy in heaven, it stands to reason we must be prepared for it. Our hearts must be somewhat in tune, somewhat ready for it.That is, be holy as Jesus is holy.”
AL: That’s so good.
JONI: Number 3:Citizens of heaven invest wisely.
AL: “Make the most of every opportunity,” it tells us in Colossians 4:5 and that’s exactly what good investors do.
JONI: One day the resale value on that Toyota Camry will only be a couple hundred dollars. Valued paintings will peel and crack. Certificates of Deposit and Treasury Notes will earn zilch. Gold will melt, silver will crumble. Memories will fade and reputations will be forgotten.
AL: So… Number 4. What are a heavenly citizen’s best investments?
JONI: Praying for unsaved neighbors. Visiting nursing homes. Asking forgiveness from people offended. Building the characters of children. Supporting their husbands. Honoring their wives. Telling the truth. Encouraging the weak. Saying “God bless you” to the bag boy at the market and meaning it. Taking time to listen to the complaints of the lady at the dry cleaners. Sharing a Christian viewpoint when the women at the hair salon start gossiping. Sitting on an ethics committee at a local hospital where they divvy out death certificates. Trusting and obeying God in small and great ways.
Look at pain and pleasure through the lens of faith. Live like a sojourner on earth and heaven will seem as close as a heartbeat. The future and the far distant will appear as present and near, and oh, so real. So, explore the hereafter right here and now, and as you do, plan to meet me right on the other side of that gigantic pearl swinging on a hinge…
AL: We will have come home, fellow pilgrim.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176