Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I don’t need anything outward to make my time with the Living God richer or more meaningful than it already is, but what I see from where I sit in the morning is just the right touch for my time in the Presence of the King of kings. With a hot cup of coffee in hand, the Word of God at my fingertips, and the Touch of the Master’s Hand visible all around me, I feel like the Royalty He says I am. This morning I sat there for the longest time just listening to the sound of the birds singing in the rain. They were making the very same happy sounds as they make on a sunny day. It seemed like when the rain fell harder they only sang louder and when it slowed down their sounds were softer too. It’s too bad most people can’t live with the same “outlook” – to do whatever needs to be done on any given day, and to Glorify the Creator through it all. Isn’t it just like God to use a little rain and the sound of the birds to speak to my Heart today?

People of Faith generally have lots of thoughts about Heaven and even more questions about what it will be like when we get there. They wonder about things like – how we’ll recognize each other in Heaven and what our “new body” will look like…and they wonder what age they’ll be. They look forward to seeing their loved ones who have already made their Journey Home, and they wonder if they’ll be there to greet them when they make their own way Home too. They wonder what Jesus meant when He said “In my Father’s house there are many mansions” and they wonder if they’ll live with their family in a mansion on a street paved in gold. They speculate on who they’ll talk to first and they look forward to Time with Paul and Peter. There is no end to the list of things people want to understand about Heaven, but there is ONE thing they rarely even mention…and that’s what they’ll be doing when they get there. No doubt there will be Praising as we hear “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty”24 hours a day, but there’s more to it than that! Understanding the Journey from start to “finish” determines how we Serve and Share today.

Most people willing to Serve the King on this side of Heaven are only interested in the things they believe they would enjoy doing. They like the idea of the “sizzle” kind of service, those high-profile roles some are called to fill. But when it comes to “behind the scenes” menial tasks, well, those things are beneath them and that’s often when you’ll hear something like; “I don’t feel called to do that.” Unlike the birds singing in the rain today, they aren’t willing to do whatever needs to be done on any given day to Glorify the Creator. Instead, their service is conditional and based on their sense of self-worth. It’s a good thing Jesus didn’t allow a (sinful) sense of self-worth to prevent Him from getting His hands dirty in the trenches of Ministry! Instead, He reached out to the lepers, the whores, and the demonic AND He washed the feet of His disciples instead of the other way around. I doubt there will toilets in Heaven, but IF there were, how many people so curious about Heaven would still want to go there if they knew they’d be assigned to cleaning toilets for eternity…how many would be like the birds so willing to sing in the rain no matter what?

Service may come in all kinds of shapes and sizes but God doesn’t. We bring Honor to the King when we’re willing to give thanks and Glorify Him in ALL things. We bring Honor to the King when we feel privileged to have been found worthy to Serve no matter how big or “small” the job appears to be from where we sit. We bring Honor to the King when we’re willing to sing in the rain just like the birds do no matter what we’re asked to do in His Name..from preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cleaning holy toilets. He’s my God and I’m His child and I strive each day to be like those birds – willing to do EVERYTHING in His Name and to never stop singing in the rain. When it rains hard, I’ll just sing louder – and when it lightens up I’ll soften right along with it. It’s my Honor to Serve the King and I pinch myself just to be found Worthy by Him to do WHATEVER He calls me to do on this side of Heaven all the way through Eternity!

How about you?