The book of life

“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  Luke 10:20 NIV

“Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”  Philippians 4:3 NIV

“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white.  I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and His angels.”  Revelation 3:5 NIV

I am sitting in our camper on a Sunday night, sort of ready for the new week to start tomorrow.  Weekends go far too fast.  For the past few days, we left our normal reality and just enjoyed time.  Harlee and Ollie were here and so was their yet to be born little sister since Aly and Logan were here too.  Schuyler made our joy complete when she showed up.  Our whole gang was here. 

Mary and I went outside for a cup or two of coffee and just sat there visiting.  We are friends with the owners of Breathe Coffee House in Hays and Patrick has always told me that the best cup of coffee is not because of the taste, it is because of the atmosphere or experience.  Who you are with and where you are make a difference.  I can say that coffee with my wife this morning was the best I have had, since the last time we were here and will be until the next time.

A couple of weeks ago I was in the middle of a trip into my territory.  I arrived at the camper at around 8:00 pm on a Monday night.  Severe storms were forecast and the sky looked like it agreed.  You probably have heard people on the news telling you what to do if a tornado is imminent.  Go to an interior room, put as many walls as you can between you and the storm, that and don’t stand outside looking at it, which is what most people do.

Sitting in our camper, the walls are made of really nice-looking cardboard type paneling.  The roof is not capable of stopping anything like tree branches.  The only thing holding the camper in place is the weight of the camper, which in our case is under 7,000 pounds, which is pretty light when that is all you have.

That night the wind speed hit 113 miles per hour.  Trees went down everywhere.  There is a house nearby and I called the owner who invited me over.  Turns out most of the people crazy enough to be in a camper during the storm beat me to the house.  As I ran to my car to go there, I could hear tree branches snapping.  By the end of it, we could not have left that night because of trees down on the roads and vehicles blown over.  The town of Salina got hit hard and will be recovering for some time.

Over a span of seven days, at the same place we experienced the full range of complete and total peace preceded by a storm that by sheer power made you realize that you have really very little control over some of the outcomes in your life.  God can make wind, which has no mass, blow trees out of the ground.

I have spent decades of my life fueled by a thought that outcomes in my life were always related to and primarily affected by my behavior.  That is true in some areas.  For example, I weigh too much which is largely affected by my own behavior.  Spiritual habits are important.  But God does not have some scoreboard keeping track of my behavior.  He has a book of life, with my name in it.  If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, your name is in it too. 

My pastor was talking about it this past weekend.  He used the word “irrevocable”.  In an investment an Irrevocable trust cannot be easily modified without the consent of all parties involved.  Thinking about it, I cannot erase my name from a book that would  require Jesus to go against His own promise of grace.  He won’t ever agree to let me go. 

Can you imagine the scene of Jesus opening the book and pointing to your name? I am going to see that happen.  So can you.

Can you imagine the scene of Jesus opening the book and saying “I never knew you.”  If you never accept Jesus as your Savior, you are going to see that happen. 

Challenge:  It is hard to imagine, but there will be good people, who have never accepted Jesus, whose names will be missing.  Trust Him.  Accept Him.  Let Him write your name, in the book of life.