People are afraid of death. Especially when death becomes ‘Breaking News’ in many television channels around the world. However, Christian perspective is: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:13)
1) Blessed: Those who know the Lord Jesus as their personal saviour are blessed. Because they have assurance of forgiveness of sins, deliverance from guilt, conscience and peace without fear of eternity as they are already declared as righteous. David proclaims: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit, there is no deceit. (Psalms 32:1,2) Blessedness is not because of prosperity or possessions in the world, but name registered in the book of life and having citizenship in heaven. In fact, perfect blessedness is impossible in this world, but we have ‘Blessed Assurance’ in this world.
2) Rest: In heaven, believers will have rest from their labours. In the world, there is a variety of labours: toil, tension, pain, tears, suffering, loss, sickness, fights, defeats…etc. All these are frustrating and do not add up to rest or peace. Longing for peace is never fulfilled in the imperfect world. In God’s eternal presence, there is peace, joy, worship, and rest.
3) Reward: When we travel to another country, we must exchange money. Rupees should be converted to Dollars or Pounds or Euros…etc. Yes, similar exchange could be done as we move to heaven. The Lord Jesus taught us that the earthly wealth could be converted to heavenly Treasures. (Matthew 6:19-21) The Lord Jesus asked us to invest for eternal dividends, the worldly or ungodly or unrighteous wealth. (Luke 16:9) The Lord’s rewards for faithfulness are amazing, that includes: crowns, pearls-studded crowns. God assures us that our labours for the Lord are never in vain. (I Corinthians 15:58)
Do I rejoice because of this Blessed Promise?