Read: 1 Peter 1:3-5; Hebrews 6:10; 1 Corinthians 15:58
Sometimes at the end of December before the calendar is flipped over to January, people decide to get organized. I rarely, if ever, have done that; nevertheless, this year I find myself slowly doing a bit of reorganization that became necessary due to an event that occurred in early December. May I explain?
Early on what seemed like an ordinary morning, I turned on the computers as I generally do. One of them a very old favorite, was an XP. Although I could no longer surf the web with it, it held some documents and pages for us. That is, until that particular morning. I had my first big clue that something was amiss when I turned on the XP and there was no Windows music. That gave me pause, but I applied my go to remedy for fixing all things electronic or otherwise. I turned the machine off and then on again. No music again, and the speech program that reads what is on the screen yielded no sounds when I pressed the keys. What to do? I know that it is said that it is insanity to try the same thing while hoping for a different result; however, there is also a saying on which I was weaned that said that if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Well, nothing helped, and my husband and I declared that the more than two decades of faithful service we had received from that XP had finally come to an end. That's why I now find myself slowly redoing my addresses and phone numbers which were lost, on to another computer. I'm making a new file. Storing them as I need them, but what about the other documents that were lost? They don't all need to be replaced. There are some that I never looked at, and there are some like my list of "fear nots" that I have been writing down from my reading through the Bible all year. That list could be redone if I want to do so. There were also a few older writings that were stored that I can't replace because I don't remember their titles; so, they couldn't even be rewritten if I wanted to do it. Gone without a trace, but that's part of what sometimes happens. No wonder the Lord reminds us to store up treasure in heaven where it will be safe, Matthew 6:19-20. Anything that was on that old XP that didn't get wiped out through the age of the machine was done in by my husband who made certain that no one would be able to search for anything even if he wanted to, and I'm thinking that it could have been so much worse, and I don't mind starting over again.
It is obvious that I am not a meticulous record keeper, but praise God! He is! In fact, it is wonderful that the One Who knows everything about us, His children, doesn't keep a log of our sins. Those transgressions that we have all committed, Romans 3:23, will never be paraded before us because they have been wiped away like a cloud and the morning mist, Isaiah 44:22. All because of what Jesus did on our behalf, Colossians 1:13-14; Colossians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:13-14.Think of it. The One Who knows every detail of our lives has not winked at or minimized our sins. No, God has made atonement for them, 1 John 2:1-2. He knows all about the sin that might still make us sad, but His love is not diminished toward us. All because of Jesus! No wonder we rejoice in Romans 8:1 because we are reminded there that there is now no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. No charges are looming against us.
Now let's look at the Record Keeper and the files He has chosen to record concerning us. In 1 Peter 1:3-5, we read some amazing truth. We are kept by God, and the inheritance that accrues to our account is also kept safe for us in heaven. Imagine it. He will never lose the records concerning even the tiniest acts we have done for His honor. How many things have we forgotten? How many things did Jesus help us do that seemed so small that we thought them to be not worthy of being remembered? What about the times we tried to work for Jesus only to have our attempts fall into a heap of misunderstanding with a wholly different result than we had hoped? I wonder if what seemed like hay and stubble to us is often used by God in unseen ways because our desire was for His honor??
One problem we have is that we see with such a limited focus, and God sees the unseen. Doesn't that thought make Hebrews 6:10 a beautiful promise? God remembers the love we have behind even the faltering and sometimes weak attempts to help others. That love we have for Jesus is noted in His records. that good motive won't be lost because He keeps flawless accounts of what His children have done in His name.
In 1 Corinthians 15:58, we are told to be steadfast and immovable. Abounding in the work of the Lord. What is interesting to me is that no outcome of our work is demanded. The Lord doesn't command us to be successful in our endeavors for Him. We would love to be successful in all we do for Jesus, but the outcome of our labor is not in our hands. Instead, we are reminded in that verse that our work for Him will not be in vain. Again, it is because He is the perfect Record Keeper that we know that nothing done for Him is unseen or forgotten. These truths can surely buoy us up in a world that too often lauds what is temporary and superficial. God's economy is so different, and whom He holds out is often one the world would never reward, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. When God opens His record books, there will no doubt be many surprises, and what we see will bring unending joy, Psalm 16:11.
Lord, Thank You that You will never overlook or misplace or lose the records of Your children, and thank You that You have placed our sin in the depths of the sea, Micah 7:18-19.
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