Measures of Love

Photo credit: http://mll4ever.deviantart.com/art/Cup-of-love-191991269

"Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” -Matthew 6:18

Have you ever thought about what heaven will be like?  I have heard many stories about people visiting heaven, and it is all very cool to think about! 

One thing I often think about is how much our actions here on earth make a difference, and what they mean in terms of eternity.  Though we don’t know for certain until we get to heaven, the Bible does say, “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt 6:20) and “And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as ‘foreigners in the land.’” (1 Peter 1:17)

What does this all mean?  I think it has to do with what we do with what we’ve been given.

There is a story in a book by Rick Joyner, called The Vision.  In this book, he describes a vision he is having with Jesus in heaven, and he is shown the life of a man named Angelo. 

Angelo was a homeless man, who was deaf and could not speak.  When Angelo saw a kitten on the street, it took all the willpower he had not to kick it; he instead nudged it out of the way. As a child, Angelo was abused and kept in a cold, dark attic until the authorities found him at eight years old.  He then went into a series of foster care homes, and finally, the streets.

The author was shown a vision of another man who was very zealously serving God, teaching the Bible, and praying for the sick.  However, God was more impressed with Angelo, and now that Angelo was in heaven, he was seated in a place reserved for martyrs and kings.

Jesus shared that the second man had been raised in a great family, and had gone to one of the best Bible colleges in the country, but he was only using 75 measures of the 100 portions of love the Lord had given him.  The Lord had given Angelo just 3 portions of love, and it had taken Angelo all 3 to keep from hurting the kitten. 

Eventually, Angelo learned to read from a gospel tract he had been given, and he got saved. God doubled his shares of love, and he used all of them to stop stealing food even though he often went hungry, and he earned money by selling bottles or doing yard work.  God again multiplied his love, and Angelo spent half of everything he earned to buy tracts.  Angelo finally led one other homeless person to the Lord before he died, keeping a wino warm on a cold night.

Things are often not as they seem.  Are you using all of your measures of love?