“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” (Re 14:13 AV)
A promise to the tribulation saint reflects similar thoughts toward all saints. There is coming a time when we will rest from all our labors and our works will follow us. At first, I was drawn by the first part of the promise. We shall rest from all our labors. Praise the LORD. We look forward to that. But then the Spirit focused my mind on the second promise. Our works will follow us. This is both a sobering thought and an encouraging one. Part of us knows we have never always done our best for Jesus. Our lives are filled with missed opportunities. We have more wasted time than we care to think of. There is no telling how many souls with whom we should have conversed regarding their souls and failed to do so. However, we also know there are many successes. There are times when we shared the gospel. There were souls which we invested in. There were weary saints we encouraged along the way. There are choices of separation and holiness we lived by. There is much to be encouraged by and much to do before we meet the LORD.
Last week, we came across some Cub Scouts on the side of the road. They were holding a pancake breakfast at a local Lutheran church. They were flashing signs and directions at the passing traffic. It brought me back to my childhood. As they dismissed from their roadside advertising, I was able to talk with a couple of scouts and their scoutmaster. Having something in common with them, we hit it off rather well. They were soon to graduate from the cub scouts to the boy scouts. We talked of my time in the scouts. They wanted to know how far I had gotten. The scout starts off as a tenderfoot. He has about five or six years to make it to eagle scout. Few make it that far. It takes much time and dedication. Among other things, the scout must earn a certain number of merit badges and perform a community project. If he can earn the rank of eagle scout, that often goes a long way on a college application or an employer’s interest. So, I had the unfortunate news that I had come up two merit badges shy of eagle scout. When I look back on it, I was young, foolish, lazy, all of the above. Had I simply knocked off those last two and did some community work, my life would have been a bit different. I encouraged these two young men to see it all the way through.
The thing is, I can choose to dwell on the missed opportunity for which I feel regret, or I can appreciate many badges and awards I had earned in spite of the two still lacking. I never saved my sash. That is the sash worn over the should and on the opposite hip. Twenty-one badges were required. Thirteen of them mandatory. I think I had earned will above the 21, but lacked two of the required badges. The thing is, depending on how faithful of a saint we are, we can take encouragement from that which the LORD has done with us, or we can regret that the vast majority of our lives have been wasted. I can choose to ruminate on all that was lost. Or, I can praise the LORD for the little He has done through me. I choose to do the latter. Yes, my life is a record of failures and missed opportunities. But not all. There are a few pieces of gold, silver, and precious stones. Besides, the LORD may grant me several more years in which to labor for Him. That is for what I pray. May the LORD make me a better soul-winner. Perhaps no library will be named after me; no picture on the wall of a past well-loved pastor; no entry in a church’s history. That is all ok. I just want the LORD to use me to introduce as many people as I can to the love of Christ. If that is what God has for me, I will die a content and fulfilled saint!
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