Have you ever watched one of those 'welcome home' videos where a member of our military comes home and surprises their family?
I get tears in my eyes whenever I see one of those. I'm sure you do too. Who doesn't like to see loving family members reunited!
My mind wandered off after watching one of those videos this morning to contemplate on heavenly things. Will our arrival in the afterlife be similar to these earthly reunions we see?
If the following verse is any indicator, I think the answer is 'yes.'
"In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!" - Luke 15:7
When I read that verse (and they are the words of Jesus), I wonder if there is a big viewing screen in heaven and everyone is watching us make our life decisions down here. Do actual cheers go up when someone repents?
Will they have a rewind button so they can watch someone's conversion over and over again? Who knows? All we know is what Jesus tells us - there will be joy!
That leads me to helieve that there will be NO joy for those who do not repent. The Bible is filled with stories of scenarios like that. Here's just one example.
"The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you . . . yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?
When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud." - Judges 2:1,2,&4
When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud." - Judges 2:1,2,&4
There are two possible outcomes from the lives we are currently living here on earth. One is filled with 'weeping and gnashing of teeth'. The other is filled with joy and celebration.
One of my favorite expressions is this: 'Not to decide is to decide.'
Make your decision today.
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