Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Revelation 7:13-17.

 

“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?”  I said to him, “My lord, you know.”  And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple;  and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.  They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore;  nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;  for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life;  and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 7:13-17.

 

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God “not only” saves us from our sins and from the eternal punishment of hell that we deserve;  God also provides us with eternal blessings in heaven. 

 

Yesterday, we considered that “Salvation belongs to the Lord” and that the Lord provides all that we need for salvation.

 

Today, we considers that the Lord provides glorious blessings in heaven as well.  “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore;  nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;  for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life;  and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”  Verses 16 and 17. 

 

“… Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”  1 Corinthians 2:9.

 

But, we have difficulty believing that God will provide these things to us.  Our natural tendency is to believe that God will treat us as we treat others.  We may be good to others for a little while or for as long as they are good to us.  Likewise, we believe that God will only be good to us as long as we perfectly perform for Him.  In summary, we tend to only lightly consider these heavenly things, because we think that they are too good to be true.

 

 

Reformed Doctrine destroys that thinking.  Reformed Doctrine teaches us that God did not save us, because we were good enough.  Reformed Doctrine helps us to believe likewise that God does not provide blessings in heaven, because we are good enough or will be good enough. 

 

Reformed Doctrine helps us to understand that like “Salvation belongs to the Lord”, we belong to the Lord.  God chose us.  We are His people, His sheep.  God saves us and provides blessings in heaven, because we are His people, we belong to Him.

 

Our only comfort in life and death is that we “belong” to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ Who saved us from our sins, preserves us, and assures us of all these heavenly things that He will provide us.  See Question and Answer 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism.