Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

30 January 2025

Reading From Matthew 20:1-16

“And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

–Matthew 20:11-16

     Any high achiever who has suffered through group projects in school knows deep in their soul the frustration felt by the vineyard workers who worked all day but got paid the same as the workers who only worked for a short time.  What we must remember about the Kingdom of God is that salvation is by grace through faith and not of works so that no one can boast.[1]  We are all on equal ground at the foot of the cross, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.[2]  Each one of us has a sin problem that we cannot solve on our own.  Only by believing and trusting Jesus can we experience redemption, healing and be made whole in every way. 

     On Judgment Day, books will be open.  Everyone whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will enter and enjoy the Presence of God in the celestial kingdom.  We gain entrance by grace through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ regardless of at what point in our lives we were born again.  Revelation 3:4-5 says, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 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.”  If we are to have our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life we must be born again and endure to the end by yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.  Not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit.

     There are other books, though.  A record of our lives is kept in Heaven and we will be rewarded according to what we have done.  We know from other Scriptures that we will reign and judge with Christ in the New Heaven and the New Earth.  Because we will be liberated from all effects and limitations of sin, I believe that we will function in our highest capacities as created beings in the authority given us by God.  Anything beyond what is explicitly revealed in the written record of Scripture is holy speculation. 

     Perhaps our rewards will play a role in determining our responsibilities in the hereafter.  One thing we know for sure is that we are justified, given right standing with God, by grace through faith and not by our own effort.  Therefore, everyone in the eternal family of God will enjoy His loving Presence regardless of the quantity and magnitude of our good deeds accomplished in our present reality.  We must also be reminded that as we make our way through our earthly lives, as believers we are to function in the power of the Holy Spirit and so it is not in our own strength that we do good works but by yielding to the Spirit flowing through us in love and power.

“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your life, death, and resurrection that makes possible redemption, power, healing and hope for whosoever believes and receives You.  I pray that rather than making following You a competition, we would work together to minister Your goodness to those in pain and in need.  We are grateful for Your goodness and mercy to us.  Equip and empower us to extend that love and care to others in our lives.  In the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ I pray these things, amen.”

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books . . . Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

–Revelation 20:11-12, 15

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

–Revelation 21:27

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[1] Ephesians 2:8-9

[2] Romans 3:23