The Daily Word of Righteousness

Treasures in Heaven, #8

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. (Isaiah 61:4)

Opportunities for service. Here is a seventh heavenly treasure. God has given to Christ the nations of the earth for His inheritance. The nations consist of people of every imaginable temperament, in every conceivable condition and situation.

When the Lord comes He will use us to restore what has been destroyed by the rule of self-seeking man, and what will be destroyed further during the days of tribulation and wrath. The sons of God will be faced with the task of rebuilding the "desolations of many generations."

The members of Christ's Body will be the Presence of God in Christ, the hands of the Lord extended to the meek of the earth. There will be work for us to do from the moment the Lord returns, extending into a future that has no end.

In addition there will be the task of perfecting the Bride. The ministers whom Christ has given will serve "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).

Since the perfecting of the Wife of the Lamb has not been completed on the earth, it is possible that the ministries will continue during the thousand-year period until the new Jerusalem has become "a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2).

The earthly counterpart of opportunities for service is the using of our days to serve ourselves, doing our own will instead of God's will. We can choose to allow the Lord to make us "bread" for other people, dying to our own life and abilities so others may live; or we can keep ourselves closed up in our own little world.

Each member of the Body of Christ has an area of Kingdom service in which he or she is to be faithful today, even if it is, in the present hour, limited to household tasks or secular employment.

If the Christian is faithful in his present tasks God will entrust greater responsibility to him. In the Day of the Lord he will be given a position of service in the Kingdom of God. Opportunities for service is a treasure the Lord Jesus will bring from Heaven with Him.

Throughout eternity the servants of God will stand before Him. They will see the Face of the Father, which is the greatest privilege of all. They will govern the creation forever.

To be continued.