I recently went to the movie theater to watch an inspiring story about a young kid who was seriously down on his luck. His dad and brother were both killed, and his only skill was being a fighter. After being beaten down half of the movie, the third quarter showed him building himself up for the big tournament, then the final quarter of the movie showed him overcoming the worst of odds and winning, achieving the girl, and the hero’s welcome the movie depicted that he rightfully deserved. Real life is not so rosy and predictable, but the hero’s welcome and the victory can be if one desires it.
Jesus made a promise that, “in His Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would He have told us that He goes to prepare a place for us? And if He goes and prepares a place for us, He will come again and will take us to Himself, that where He is, we may be also” (adapted from John 14:2-3). When we have guests coming, we honor them by preparing our home for their arrival. We change the bed sheets, and clean the baseboards (let us be honest, that is the only time we clean them!). God feels that way about us. If we welcomed Him and honored him all our lives, then He honors us with a place prepared.
And that welcome will be a hero’s welcome, filled with joy! We want to be greeted with words like Matthew 25:21 when the master said to the talent-rich man, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your Lord.” Imagine what feelings of relief, awe, and sheer joy we will feel when we see that God has settled the debt we could never pay. We want to make our Father proud and see deep delight and approval in His face as Jesus greets us, calling our name from the Lamb’s book of life. We will walk in Christ’s triumph into heaven and, “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things [will] have passed away.”
Many dream of having that hero’s welcome in their life. They live in dreams of being the object of admiration, adoration, or admonishment. Sometimes we focus on the wrong things, though. Matthew 7:21 emphasizes that, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven.” We must go about doing God’s will but not our own. We pursue our own “hero’s welcome,” but sometimes become so impatient, or so discouraged that we lose sight of the path. Only God’s way will lead us home and on that glorious day we will finally realize what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20 that, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.” “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.” We will be with God, and the triumph will be ours.
Persevere through this life, and joy is ours. Obey God’s Word, and live righteously, and we will see each other there.
Lance Byers