“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18)
We all want something when we get to heaven, it is right and proper to say that Jesus is enough, that to just be in His presence is all we desire, it is the Christian thing to say, and while He is indeed the fulfillment of this life and the one to come, we want to be, for lack of a better word, useful. “For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.” (Mark 4:25)
There is more for those who are profitable here on earth waiting for them in the Kingdom of our Lord, more responsibility, more work, more to be and still for the glory of God, there is little room in heaven for those who were lazy here.
There is happiness when a person goes on vacation, but beyond the adventure, the memories and expected anticipation, there is little profit to it, we experience, but add little value to our lives in doing so beyond these points. In some way, shape or form in your employment field you are performing that task to the benefit of others, it matters little what it is, there is value in it, and although it may only yield temporal results, there is a purpose within it beyond simply experiencing it.
According to our opening verse we who have been born-again shine in the Spiritual realm, some with a glaring brilliance, some not so much, but enough that even that weakest of light shines in the darkness of this world. No one shines brighter than the Lord Jesus Christ. “His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.” (Daniel 10:6)
How much we shine my friends is up to us, the more we submit to the will of the Father, the more we desire to walk the path that has been set before us, the greater enthusiasm of love for the Lord Jesus Christ that we perform the work given to us in love for Him, the more we shine.
There are those who, in the eyes of some Christians, whose life seems of very little value to the eternal Kingdom, whom if we could see with our Spiritual eyes here shine brighter than many who stand behind the pulpit today, they work tirelessly for the glory of God, not to be seen of men. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)
I will offer you a truth here, those who are shining the brightest rarely feel useful in the tasks set before them, they care little if they are noticed and feel almost ashamed when they are, for they know it is not them who is doing the work, but the Lord through them. And that is why I say it is never enough, not that Jesus is not enough, for He is indeed all we need, not that they feel useless or unprofitable, but that if they are not working for Him there is little value to their lives, and so they desire to be used by Him continuously not only here, but throughout eternity.
One of the greatest blessings that we can know is that the Lord has seen us as profitable, that we have been used for His glory. I mean no disrespect by this and perhaps I do not know how to phrase it properly, but if you understand this short letter, then you will understand this, some of us desire of course to sit at the feet of the Savior and listen to Him speak, but we do not want to remain there forever, there is work to be done, and men of God devoted to the glory of God desire to work for His glory.
All who have been crucified with Christ shine, some more than others, but that is not the point, the point is, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)