Heaven's Esteem

January 4

It is difficult for people who feel they are quite ordinary by earthly standards to presume there is anything they could do or be that would attain any accolades in Heaven. The God who inhabits eternity, by whose power the worlds are held in place, who is the Author and Finisher of life couldn’t possibly be impressed with anything about us.

Top executive for a multi-national company? Big deal. Endowed with amazing athletic prowess that brings fame and fortune? So what. Savvy investor who begins on a shoe string and ends up a multimillionaire? What else is new? If the best of what we esteem to be man’s accomplishments are merely ‘ho-hum’ to God, it’s inconceivable that our ordinary successes would impress Him.

But, the devoted mother who lavishes her children with love and encourages them to find their own place at the foot of the cross has won His approval. The godly father who spends himself to provide the needs of his family in a troubled economy has caught His eye. The Christian businessman who shaves his own profits so his employees may have a needed bonus will not go without his reward.

But beyond these things believers do in the course of their lives in order to assure that Christ’s message of love and salvation is extended to everyone around them, there is another thing that assures they will have His approval. Jesus said in Matthew 5:19, “He who practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Respect for Heaven’s law will bring Heaven’s esteem to those who honor it.